Family Life and Child Development
by ladyelainemalfoy
Summary: New year, new world, new courses, new couples. The trio had to face it all. But this time they had to break up, literally, and maybe figuratively, who knows. Draco Malfoy was in the equation, but this time, he's no villain! Will they eventually conquer?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first ever Dramione fanfic. I know I had uploaded it long ago, but I deleted it and now uploading it again. I had made future chapters ready, and had it already beta-ed. Constructive criticisms are always encourage. Let me know what you think.**

**Thanks to my beta, Miles HPFF forums. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. (and the babies as well)**

It had been the year after the war and people were still grieving. But life had to go on, and so Hermione Granger had thought that the best way to move on was to create normalcy in her life once more by bringing studying back. The moment she had received the new Headmistress' offer to continue her study for her last year, she'd agreed without hesitation and was set to have Ron and Harry agree to go with her. Alas, it took her hours of bickering and pleads but she got her goals It had, alas, taken hours of bickering and pleading but in the end she had gotten her way.

Now, as she sat on her chair, listening to the endless chatter of the Gryffindors, she realized that this last year in Hogwarts would be the one ordinary. However, the meaning of ordinary was quite debatable. She shook her head and watched and listened to Ginny, Ron and Harry. As per usual, they were talking about Quidditch.

The Great Hall shook with the sea of loud voices. But Professor McGonagall's voice rang above it all. "Please will the Seventh Year students remain in the Great Hall? The rest may go now to your dormitories. Prefects, kindly lead the way. Good night."

Hermione and her friends stayed in their seats and did the remaining Seventh Year students. Then she noticed the number of the Seventh years students. Despite the combination of 'the last two years of students, there were still fewer than in any other class. She supposed that the families thought it would be better to cherish their moments together after the war.

Ginny nudged her out of her trance, pointing to McGonagall. The elder witch started to speak. "I have asked for your attention today because the Ministry has ordered the school to add a new classto your year. It has come to their attention that students should be taught about having families. It will be in preparation for the, er, shall we say future. Tomorrow, you will stay here after breakfast to have the new course fully explained to all of you. For now, go to your dormitories and have a good nights sleep." With that she turned around and left through the door behind the head table.

She had a bad feeling about this family life course. But she shook it off, tomorrow would be the best time for her to judge if it was good or bad. Tonight, she would have the much needed rest.

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><p>Draco Malfoy sighed in anticipation. He couldn't put a finger to if this is a good thing or bad thing. To the rest of the houses, he was a coward who turned his back on the dark side moments before it lost. But to the Slytherin house, it was a different story.<p>

He and his mother had escaped the wrath of Azkaban with their new and improved security services with the help of the Golden Trio,most especially the Golden boy himself, Harry Potter. During the summer, he had stood in defense for the two Malfoys. Draco couldn't be grateful enough to Harry, but staying out of their way, he thought, would suffice for his gratitude.

Now, as he was free from the metal clinks of his father, Draco had found the freedom to make his own choices. Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban for who knew how long, giving him the title as the Lord of the Malfoy household. He redeemed himself by working his ass off to renew the name Malfoy within their industries. But it was clearly not enough.

His mother saw his struggles and offered to manage the business while he took some time off. She had thought that being back at Hogwarts would be the best way to regain his normal view of life. He was reluctant to say the least but seeing as this could be considered a vacation, he had agreed.

Draco together with Blaise Zabini, the Italian Slytherin, were the only ones who had had the courage to go back to finish their final year. Most of the students that had been in their year had been on the run, killed or simply held back by the Ministry for house arrest including Pansy Parkinson, Theodore Nott, and Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe was killed by his own curse during the war. Draco may be grieving a little but he couldn't care less, to him Vincent was just a minion, Zabini had been more a friend.

The whole night he had set his gaze on his plate, pushing the food around nonchalantly with his fork. Nobody in Slytherin dared to speak, he believed that their table was the quietest one. When McGonagall stood at the Head Table, he dared to look up, but he tuned her voice out. It was only Zabini's nudge that brought him back to reality.

"What was that about?"

"Something about family life classes. She didn't elaborate, I don't know." The Italian boy shrugged his shoulders and stood up to go to the dungeons. Draco quickly stood as well following Zabini to their dorms.

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><p>The common room fell silent. It was not, however, an abnormal scene in the Slytherin common room. Slytherin tended to be with themselves than be friendly with one another. Friendship had a different definition in Slytherin.<p>

As Draco strode towards the stairs, murmurs started erupting from the groups huddled in each corner of the room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he overheard the conversation of the boys closest to him.

"He's a traitor. Dad is in Azkaban because of him and his mother." The blond Second Year spat to the other with a lot of venom in his voice. He glared at Draco for a second but it was quickly gone.

"He's a coward. He was just saving his skin. Associating with mudbloods and blood traitors, he doesn't deserve to be in Slytherin." The other agreed with the same disgust.

Blaise held him in place as his fists clenched and unclenched. His blood was beginning to boil. _They didn't know that this world is not just black and white._ He thought, taking in deep breaths trying to relax himself.

"It's time to turn in! And Slughorn wouldn't be quite pleased with your behavior. Really talking about a housemate behind their backs? I thought Slytherins were better than that." Blaise shook his head in disapproval as he led Draco upstairs, leaving the room in silence for the second time that night.

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><p>The morning came quickly. Hermione and the rest of the gang sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Everyone was jolly and clearly not thinking about the pending announcement of the new class, everybody apart from Hermione herself.<p>

Hermione was nervous, but it was a natural reaction from the famous know-it-all. Remembering the stories from her muggle friends about their own health educations, she expected the added class to be one teaching them about family planning and the like. Oh how right she was, and yet, at the same time how wrong.

The moment breakfast was finished the Seventh Years were left, once again, in their seats. McGonagall, rising from her chair, whisked her wand and the tables were gone, leaving rows of benches in place for the students to sit down on. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Luna sat side by side in the front, while Draco and Blaise sat in the last row.

"As I told you all last night, we have a new class. Allow me to elaborate. This course will be called Family Life and Child Development. It is not a simple subject that you need only to attend for an hour or so two or three times a week. This is going to be a class that goes on for twenty-four hours, seven days a week." She started; her stern voice was unusually soft and motherly. It was like she was preparing the students for an explosion, Hermione thought. Murmurs were starting to fill the hall but were quickly interrupted and stopped by the headmistress.

"You will be partnered by the Sorting Hat, as I have charmed it to be able to fairly pair you up. You and your partner will live as husband and wife, and are expected to care for a child. The children will be charmed and every two months the children will grow from months to years. As parents, you will be the one responsible for your finances, thus having internships from the Ministry and the school. You will be living with your partner and your child. Each dormitory would be consisted of group will consist of four families."

Hermione raised her hand, confused at all the news she'd been hearing. "Professor, how will we be graded?"

"Yes, yes, Miss Granger, thank you very much. I seem to have forgotten about that part. WellYou will attend a class that will monitor your progress once a week. Professor Merrywood will be the one handling that class. Any more questions?" she asked. After a considerable amount of time, and nobody raising their hand - all were absorbing the news and'immersed in their thoughts - Professor McGonagall continued, "Shall we proceed to the pairing up then? Good. Now, when your name is called, please sit at the stool and let the sorting hat decide." She cleared her voice and started calling them up, one by one. Hermione closed her eyes, in her mind there was a mantra; _Please not Malfoy._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This chapter was revamped. Thanks to Miles HPFF for beta-ing.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except for the kids and the plot

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><p>"NO!" Three voices rang in the hall at the announcement from the Sorting Hat. Three sets of eyes glared at each other, three people reacted violently, and those three were Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley and Draco Malfoy.<p>

"Miss Granger, Mister Weasley, Mister Malfoy, I must ask you to calm down! Boys sit down! Miss Granger, I do not have the power to change the decision, the hat has just read both of your minds." Headmistress McGonagall explained causing Hermione to sigh in defeat and stormed across the hall to her new partner.

Harry sent her a sympathetic glance while Ron was busy sending glares on her partner. "Do not think for one second I would want to be in this situation! I loathe it to my very bones." Hermione hissed as she sat down as far as physically possible while still being next to him, proving quite the challenge.

"Don't flatter yourself, Granger because the feeling is mutual." Draco hissed in a quiet tone that made shivers run up Hermione's arms. Thiswas the first time they had talked to each other and it was clear that both had venom in their voices. She couldn't blame him though; seven years of animosity were hard to vanish.

As silently as they could Draco and Hermione waited for the ceremony to end. Hermione sent an appreciative smile at Harry as the hat announced him as Ginny's partner. It was given; the two would end up being together until the end of their lives. This lessened her anger about her predicament momentarily, Harry and Ginny were the perfect example of a happily ever after story. Hermione wondered when she would find her own prince, but as rational and logical as her mind was, Hermione shook those thoughts out of her head. Fairytales didn't come true in real life, Harry and Ginny were just a special case.

"Granger, pull your over-analyzing brain out of those thoughts for a moment, McGonagall's talking." Draco sneered at her. Hermione sent him a small glare but managed to blush a little. It was an embarrassing thought to have Hermione, little Miss Perfect know-it-all to be caught daydreaming and spacing out by the Slytherin Prince himself. Who knew what he would do at that kind of information.

"As I was saying, you and your partner will share a bedroom with a little crib inside. There you would find a doll and a note with instructions on how you would give life to your babies. The living arrangements will be here." The professor flicked her wand and a large parchment with the partners' names and their dorm mates written on it appeared.

Ginny came rushing to her happily and gave her a bone crushing hug. "Ca…can't breathe." Hermione stated in a little voice and Ginny pulled back, turning light pink. "Sorry." "We're dorm mates, Hermione with Zabini, Luna, Ron and Padma." Harry announced when he reached where Hermione and Draco were seated.

Hermione groaned when she heard Ron would be there as well, it was quiet disorienting thinking about what would happen when Ron and Malfoy clashed with each other. Hermione hoped at least one of them would know how to manage their tempers; however she knew firsthand that would be impossible.

"Granger, get your ass off that seat and let's go to the dorm." Draco scowled at the Gryffindors as he began to walk out of the hall and towards their new dormitories.

* * *

><p>"Hey mate, you alright?" Blaise clapped Draco's back as he walked with him towards the fifth floor, Draco nodded but continued to walk in silence. Blaise sighed at his friend's unnatural silence, Draco had lived with them last summer after the trial. Blaise wasn't as active as his friend when it comes to blood purity so he maintained a neutral force, but the change in Draco's character was something he was beginning to get used to and Blaise knew that Draco needed someone to be there for him.<p>

They neared the portrait of the young, blonde girl of about seven from the Regency era picking flowers and transforming them to crowns. "Kind sirs, you need to wait for the others before you can go in. The password should be agreed upon everybody, monsieur." She stated offering a curtsy and returning to her play. Not long after Granger, Potter and the Weaslette arrived with Lovegood on their heels.

Potter and the Weaslette gave Blaise and Draco curt nods of acknowledgment that both Slytherins returned, Draco less so than Blaise. Hermione looked away, biting her lip to prevent herself from speaking out at tha) moment. "Are we complete then?" Luna decided to break the rising tension between the Gryffindors and Slytherins with her calming sing-song voice.

"Not yet. Padma and Ron are-"Ginny was cut off by a loud bickering coming towards them. Padma dragged Ron towards the portrait. "I will go to McGonagall! This isn't fair! Hermione should not be partnered with that… that foul git." Ron fumed and Padma smacked the back of his head before anyone could retort.

"Shut your big mouth Ronald Weasley. McGonagall clearly stated that the decision was not hers! So manage yourself before I send you to St. Mungo's for that bloody temper." Padma said in an exasperated and angry tone, turning to the group she smiled politely. "Sorry, shall we pick our password then?" The group nodded and decided that 'Unity' would be the best one, as Harry said, 'a reminder of the war and its repercussions'.

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><p>Ron was still red and practically steaming with anger glaring at the blond wizard as they entered the common room. It was a neutral, light room painted in calming, earthy colors. Four loveseats were strategically placed in the center portion of the room, and a simple mahogany coffee table in the middle facing the fireplace. It was warm and cozy like the Gryffindor common room although it lack the house colors. There was a small kitchen, two bathrooms (for the boys and for the girls) and four bedrooms (each with two twin-sized beds and crib).<p>

Draco and Blaise sat down on one of the couches talking in hushed tones; Harry went into the kitchen, rummaging through the cupboards for some drinks, while the girls looked around the quarters, admiring its glory. Blaise left the common area for the bathroom and Draco stood up, walking towards the furthest left room that he would share with Hermione when he ran into somebody.

"Watch where you're going, Death Eater," Ron hissed maliciously at Draco as he stumbled back, losing a little of his balance.

Draco's face showed little anger even though he was clearly insulted by the statement. "You don't know me Weasel so sod off." He hissed back.

"Oh, I know you. You are the foulest creature at and you don't deserve to be here. You are a cowardly Death Eater and the poorest excuse for a wizard ever seen. Why don't you go to your father in Azkaban and ask him to pull the strings like you did before? Or run to your whore mother and cry your heart out like a ninny?" Ron answered, jabbing his finger at Draco's chest. The mention of his mother made Draco's blood boil. How dare this Weasel insult his mother? If not for her, the Weasel's best friend would probably be dead by now.

"I said sod off! You don't understand English? Then let me tell you slowly, SOD OFF WEASEL!" Draco hissed once more, his eyes narrowing and his fists clenching. Ron, who was still fuming, swung his arm back and connected his fist to Draco's jaw and causing a crack to be heard.

That same moment the girls, Blaise and Harry all heard the commotion and rushed in to the common room. "What's happening here?" Hermione screeched at the sight of Draco's bleeding lip as he lay on the floor. Draco was about to throw a punch at the redhead when Blaise rushed to his side and caught his arms while Harry did the same to Ron's.

Hermione moved between the two and faced Ron, the other girls still standing dumbfounded. "Ronald Weasley, listen to me and you better listen very well! Do not do this again or else you'll find yourself in the hospital wing without the knowledge of how you got there. Do you understand?" She spat, anger seeping through her body.

"So you're defending that Death Eater? How dare you Hermione? Don't you remember what he did to us? What he called you?" Ron retorted.

"I do remember, but nobody, and that includes you Ronald, messes with my grades. And if good grades includes having to have a truce with him and living peacefully I'll do it!'" She said, turning abruptly to Draco she grabbed his wrist, dragging him towards their room, even as Blaise let him go.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This chapter is revamped. Thank you to MilesHPFF for beta-ing. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Cassie. And the plot.**

**Please read and review! Thanks!**

Hermione was boiling with silent rage as she threw the door labelled Draco and Hermione forcefully open after her brief confrontation with Ron. She was not that happy that she was still holding Draco's wrist, granted a little harder than truly necessary, causing him to whimper in silence.

Not daring to speak in his normal voice, which he knew very well would further infuriate her, Draco managed to make his voice as small as possible. "I think it's time to give life to the baby." Hermione, hearing this,suddenly became aware of her surroundings.

Her eyes darted to the two twin-sized beds with a little side table in between. The right corner was transformed to be a little nursery infused within their bedroom with mobiles and a crib in place. They had full closetsand study tables for both of them, on the left side of the room was a large window, complete with a big window sill that had Hermione thinking that the room had been specifically made for them given she loved to sit on window sills during her 'lazy days'.

She walked towards the wooden crib, painted in white, and grabbed the note placed on top of the doll. Draco followed her and picked up the vial of purple potion next to it. The lioness opened the letter and held it a little away from her so her partner could read it with her.

_Dear Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger,_

_I am very pleased to know that you have found it in yourselves to cooperate with this program. I assure you both that this will help you in the near future._

_As for business matters, you should have seen the potion beside the doll and probably thinking what was its purpose (and are probably wondering about its purpose). I ask you to put four strands each of both your hair in that potion and shake it well. Then you must pour the potion to the doll, leave it in the crib and go out to the common room. After half an hour, you must go back and you should see your baby/ies. (You will please put four strands of hair in the potion from each of you and shake well. Then pour the potion over the doll, place it back in the crib and leave the room for half an hour. When this time has passed you will return to your room and find your baby or babies waiting for you)._

_Now I know you, Miss Granger, will have some questions. First of all, you need to attend the FLCD class every Monday so that Professor Merrywood can keep track of your progress. Secondly, she will give you a task every week to be fulfilled by the deadline. These tasks areimportant in your family training class._

_The babies will grow every month to the equivalent of a year, so that by the end of the year you will have ten year old children to look after. Any further questions would be gladly answered by your professor._

_You are allowed to decorate your room. I hope you learn to get along well, remember that the goal of this course is not only to prepare you for your future as adults but to create unity between you as young adults who were forced to grow up quickly. _

_Yours,_

_Professor M McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

Both Hermione and Draco were satisfied with the letter and, after exchanging glances, each picked four strands from their own heads and mixed them into the potion. The purple liquid turned blue then pink changing until it was devoid of color. Draco looked at Hermione, his eyes asking if the potion was ready for him to pour it over the doll. He still didn't trust his voice after seeing the feisty Gryffindor, her punch was still etched very clearly in his mind.

Hermione nodded ever so slightly but Draco took notice of it and not necessary gradually poured the potion over the doll. White light engulfed it and Hermione took hold of his wrist once more to lead him out of the room, leaving the blinding light behind.

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><p>The common room was silent as nobody dared to talk about what had happened a few minutes before. Everybody was present by the time Hermione and Draco arrived; everybody exculding Ronald Weasley. Harry and Ginny were in the loveseat in front of the fire, snuggled up to each other with Harry wearing a nervous and amused look on his face and Ginny an excited smile on hers. Padma and Luna were seated across each other on the floor with the coffee table between them, arguing about the existence of wrackspurts. Blaise was at the play pen, inspecting every nook and cranny of the 'thing' as he so eloquently had put it. While Hermione sat as per usual at the desk in their own private mini-library and, once in a while, she glanced up from her book to take in the atmosphere that was present within their unusual set of roommates.<p>

She had purposefully ignored the absence of Ron as she was still infuriated with his childish temper. But one thing had taken her concentration from her book and, as a result of which, Hermione was reading the same line twenty times and still couldn't grasp what it meant. That thing, or rather person, was Draco Malfoy.

He was sitting on one of the other loveseats, farthest from Harry and Ginny, by himself. He seemed to be deep in thought for his silvery blue eyes were far off and cloudy with ideas. This intrigued her a lot because, after the war, Draco Malfoy had become an enigma.

Her wand vibrated with the alarm she had set up after leaving their room, it was time to meet the babies. She placed a bookmark between the pages she was reading and pushed the book to the top left side of the table. Hermione really intended on finishing the book for tomorrow's classes.

As if on cue, Draco composed himself, uncrossed his legs and began standing up. That was when Hermione had joined him. With a quick nod in her direction, he walked towards their room. "It's time." She said before opening the door herself.

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><p>"She's a lovely girl," Hermione thought as a five-month girl with short and straight golden blond hair, silvery blue eyes, petite and soft limbs, and a sweet smile on her face stared at Hermione and Draco. Both teens were afraid of taking her out of her crib for opposite reasons; one was scared to hold the child as she looked so delicate and precious and one feared that the lack of knowledge would put the child in danger.<p>

Finally, the Gryffindor lioness plucked up her courage and gently put her hands under the child's neck and lower back as she lifted her to her chest. This gave Hermione the chance to inspect her closely. She had long lashes and rosy cheeks, her complexion was a perfect combination of their skin. "She's prefect," she breathed daring to look at the other silvery blue orbs that were intent on taking in the sight before him. "Yes, that she is." Draco softly agreed.

If Hermione wasn't holding her baby girl, she would have probably been shocked at the use of the quiet tone by the Slytherin Prince which lacked the normal malice and venom. But with the little girl in her arms, she hadn't taken notice.

"We should show her off. Her beauty deserves that." She suggested, and with a slight nod of (from) Draco, Hermione started walking towards the door.

"Wait."

She turned her head back to look at him, her amber eyes looking at him questioningly. "We should name her first."

"Right, we should." She said, her face lit up with excitement.

"Cassiopeia," Draco said tentatively, Hermione vigorously nodded in agreement.

"Cassiopeia Nicole Granger-Malfoy. What a perfect name for a perfect girl." She then opened the door and took a step out of their room.

Draco had a small smile on his face as he whispered to himself. "Welcome to the world,_ my star, Cassiopeia Nicole Granger-Malfoy_," following the mother and daughter into the common room.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter was revamped. I would also like to thank my beta for doing the job of editing my chapters. She also beta-ed my first to third chapters. Thanks Miles HPFF forums-**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot and the babies. xD **

**I'm really sorry for the delay of the update. I was at the hospital for a week or so, and its quite scary. I had a deadly disease, thank Merlin I survived. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, and all since the first chapter. I'm really lazy to write your names all out.**

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><p>He was late. Damn that intimidating witch and their brat for pulling an all-nighter on him. Hair disheveled, circles under his eyes, Draco Malfoy ran along the halls of Hogwarts towards the FLCD classroom. The younger students were looking at him with a mixture of confusion and fear given the wizard was muttering a few choice curse words with the name Hermione Granger mixed in as he moved along. The first years weren't sure if they should be walking with him or stopping in the hallway as he passed by. Draco Malfoy was literally steaming mad.<p>

_How dare __she! That bloody heavy sleeper of a woman had the decency to shake me awake when the tot had her huge lungs working! ME! DRACO –bloody- MALFOY! And then to wake me up five minutes before class__how dare she! She'll see what she's-_

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and a petite woman greeted him warmly. He hadn't expected the room to be quite, should he say,homey. It was nothing like theirother classrooms. It looked more like a nursery to Draco except that their children were with Madame Pomphrey having their first medical check ups. There was not a blackboard in sight,the people inside were sitting on large colored cushions. The walls were not the brownish hue that most of the castle rooms had, instead painted with a beige background and a mural of fairies, dragons and magical creatures that the children would love. There was a play pen in the corner with numerous toys and the floor was a type ofrubber matting.

"Mr. Malfoy, come in, come in. We're just having our introductions." Professor Merrywood said warmly, like the hostess she was and guided him to the brown haired witch he was partnered with. "Sorry Professor for being late, I had a late night with Cassie," He said apologetically to the older witch which made Hermione look at him. "Oh don't worry, my dear. You're not late, the lesson has not yet started." The older lady smiled at him, which made Draco look confused. "Now, who's turn is it again?" She turned back to the group.

"Mine." Hermione said returning her gaze to the group. "I'm Hermione Granger, _muggle-born _witch; I like Transfiguration and Potions best. My parents are dentists and I'm an only child." She continued. "Miss Granger, can I call you Hermione?" When the younger witch nodded, the Professor continued. "Hermione, what are your hobbies? And what do you do during your free time?"

The brunette answered and the flow of conversation started. Though their roommates were close with her, there were still a lot of things they didn't know. It was a bother first to Draco when he saw Blaise actually having a conversation with the brunette witch about _telephones_.

It wasn't long before a nudge brought him back to his senses. Hermione was raising her eyebrow at him and he saw Professor Merrywood smiling at him, again. "So introduce yourself, young man." He nodded slightly and forced his voice out of his throat.

"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy." He winced slightly when an image of a younger him in the same position years before came to mind.

"Well, Draco, what are your views about the foundations of a family?" Professor Merrywood asked, deliberately changing the topic that Draco hadn't heard. He furrowed his brows a little and looked at Blaise who shrugged.

All of the people on the table were looking at him expectantly- okay not all, majority that didn't include Granger and Weasley. He looked at the professor again before he started digging his brains for views. _Foundations of a family. Hmm, is this woman __trying to trickme or something?__By the look on her face, she's not. Oh well…_

"Well professor, I think financial, emotional, and physical stability is important in a family. _Pureblood marriages_are arranged according to the financial status of both families and the advantages of the marriage to them." He said giving emphasis to pureblood marriages. It was quite honest to his knowledge since he had been about to be betrothed to some pureblood princess before the war.

"Yes, that's quite true, Draco." She nodded then looked at the students around. "Well, in this lesson, we'll learn about understanding, and trust. It is true that a family should be financially stable, emotionally too. However, that stability cannot be achieved by simple physical methods. It is rooted more deeply, thus the reason why understanding, and trust are important."

"Professor, are you trying to say that we need to develop our trust in our partners before we handle our baby?" Her voice was full of curiosity and confusion, a healthy mix of both was enough for Draco to picture her face that was normally thirsty for knowledge.

"Yes, that is quite right, Hermione. I expect that through this task I am giving to you, you'll develop a deeper understanding of both partner'sbehaviors. We cannot risk the lives of your babies now, can we?" The petite woman said raising her eyebrows at the confused students, the exceptions being Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

"Now pick a corner for your pair and I am giving you half an hour to talk to each other, get to know each other as I know most of you don't have good history together. Then afterwards, we'll have a little game, finally, for the last minutes of our class, we'll do something about your trust." Amelia Merrywood beamed at the class comprising of four Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws and two Slytherins. The students grumbled but moved from their cushions, gathering their seats and turning towards the corners of the room, leaving Draco and Hermione where they were.

The two remained seated with their tea half-full and cookies barely eaten. They had different facial expressions, both on the extreme ends of emotion. Hermione was glaring at another student on the other side of the room. It was clear that whoever that student was, he or she was returning the glare. All the while, Draco kept an emotionless demeanor that he normally used in Hogwarts.

The round table the three- Hermione, Draco and Amelia- were at was large enough to hold conversations without eavesdropping tendencies as the pair were at the other side of the table, when they spoke in hushed tones. Professor Merrywood grabbed her wand silently and discreetly from her pocket and pointed it at them under the table. She whispered a silent charm that would let her hear their conversation from afar. It used the same principle with the Weasley Twins' Extendable Ears. You see, she disagreed immensely on Filch's views about the Weasley inventions for she found it quite useful.

She tuned in to the starting conversation with her two students. She had heard from the headmistress that they had a really, really, really bad history and among the histories of history, theirs was the worst of them all. It'll be the perfect test of her activity if they actually held a civil conversation for half an hour.

"So…" Hermione started, Draco frowned. "Is that the only thing you can say, Granger? So? And here I heard you're supposedly the brightest witch?" He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

"Shut it, you ferret." She turned her glare to him from Ron Weasley who had been equally fuming a few minutes ago before Padma Patil had snapped at him. Amelia glanced briefly at them because she was curious, you see.

"Really ferret? Really? Can't you come up with new insults?" His frown deepened.

"I said shut it, Malfoy. Can't you just zip your fat mouth even for a second?"

"We're supposed to be talking so why should I shut my mouth? And for your information, its not fat, thank you very much. It is quite proportional to my face."

"Oh really? It looked quite swollen to me! Had a long and hot snogging session with your sluts? Is that why you were late for first day of classes? Or did somebody actually have the brain to slap it time and time again every time you swore?"

"How dare-! For your information, Granger, I do not snog sluts. And no one in their right mind would slap me, especially on my lips. I'm late because of you actually. Can't you remember that your child was wailing at the top of her lungs last night and I had to rock her to sleep when you bloody slept like a baby?"

"It's your problem, not mine." She shrugged.

An awkward silence passed between them, both faced not necessary opposite directions and fumed. Amelia watched them from the other side of the table, silently sipping her tea and biting into her cookie. A few minutes later, Hermione recovered and grabbed a cookie from the table. It seemed that after she swallowed the pastry, she realized that they were not moving towards the goal. Draco, however, seemed to recover soon as well.

"Look, Malfoy."

"Look, Granger." Both started, looking at each other (actually glaring) before Hermione sighed.

"Malfoy, I'm tired of this arguing on our part and if we continue this I have a huge suspicion that it will affect our grades."

"Trust Granger to think of her grades as the top priority."

"Shut it Malfoy."

"Fine. I'm tired too. So what should we do then?"

"How about we start from the beginning?" She suggested, sipping her tea and biting into another cookie.

"Fine then. I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy."

"Hello, Draco. I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."

The two shook hands and Amelia's lips twitched to the side upwards but were hidden from their view because of the cup of tea on her lips.

Half an hour later, Hermione and Draco were laughing like old friends and the whole room fell silent, watching the pair with raised eyebrows (except for Ron who was still glaring, apparently he wasn't tired of it yet. And Amelia's smiling eyes)

"What's so funny, Hermione?" Harry interrupted the couple from his seat near the playpen. Hermione controlled herself and held her laughter before turning to Harry.

"Nothing, Harry, nothing. Draco just commented about something and it's quite funny." Harry shrugged but still looked at them with confusion until Ginny caught his attention again.

Hermione laughed her heart out when Draco mimicked Umbridge when the woman- more like toad- was chased by the dragon fireworks of the Weasley twins. He had an exact, or exaggeratedly frightened face, Hermione couldn't figure out which one was truly true, and his comment about her shriek being more like a frog's croak simply topped it off.

She couldn't help but wonder how in the world they had come to this. One moment they were fighting like there's no tomorrow, then the next they were laughing as if it was the last moment of their lives. They hadn't had a heart-to-heart conversation but she now knew more about Draco Malfoy than she had half-an hour ago.

She now knew that his favorite colors were not exactly green and silver but black and blue, that he would love to be a professional Quidditch player rather than managing the tangled web of the Malfoy accounts, that he loved potions, but not for the reason she thought - which was Snape- instead because he found relaxation within the precise art of making them.

Hermione was interrupted by the small woman's motherly voice. She actually admired this woman for creating this mood between enemies. She knew it was magic that made this whole thing possible for them to talk, maybe it was merely her logic? She didn't know, but Hermione still admired her.

"As we are lacking time for the game and enough for the trust exercise, I would like to ask you to just come up with a schedule. I need you to come up with a schedule of your shifts with your babies. You see, children of their age, a month or so old don't have good sleeping schedules yet and surely they will mess with your sleep cycle. As you try to give them their sleep patterns, you and your partner have to sacrifice night schedules to care for the child. To be fair, you need to make a schedule shifts. Good luck. Remember, understanding is the key, compromises will be the result." She ended with a wink before she got up from her cushion and excused herself to go to Madame Pomphrey.

Hermione turned to Draco and conjured a parchment, quill and ink. "So we need to have a schedule."

"I know, Hermione. Not deaf you know."

"Yeah sorry. Anyway, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper so I think if it's my turn, I should take a nap after classes so I will stay awake at night." She said and started writing a chart for their schedule.

"I know. I was awake last night while Cassie was crying and you would sleep through it, even if she could wake the whole castle)." He shrugged and she glared, albeit playfully.

"Oh and you snore." He added with a smirk.

"I do not snore." She said with conviction and a death glare.

"Yes you do." He countered. She grabbed a nearby pillow and hit him on the head, repetitively.

"That's enough, woman. Don't get your knickers in a twist, and there's certainly no need to get violent. I'm just joking." He said defending himself from her attacks with his arms crossed above his head. "Let's just start."

Fifteen minutes later, Professor Merrywood arrived back with the school nurse and four babies- two with each witch. Both witches were wearing their most motherly joyful smiles. The eight students smiled, even if it was small with Draco and Blaise and almost a grimace with Ron.

"So class, I trust you have your schedules ready?" When they all nodded, she continued. "Well, for our parting activity, we'll do something muggles called 'A Trust Fall'. Hermione, could you please explain to us what it is?"

Hermione nodded and proceeded to tell her classmates what exactly A Trust Fall was, in her best matter-of-fact voice. She then glanced at Draco and asked herself, if she was ready to trust the boy-turned-man that she had loathed for the past seven years and had became her sort-of-friend only an hour before. Memories of him calling her a mudblood, cursing her teeth to grow past her chin, and watching, unceremoniously, while she was being tortured came to mind.

A long time hadn't passed since the memories had taken place and they were still fresh, causing her to suddenly remember why she had hated him. She was sure she didn't trust him yet, but the way he handled his situation with Ron and him caring for their child told her to try. She didn't know him so who was she to judge him.

He nudged her away from himself and looked at her with his gray eyes. She furrowed her brows because she knew something was different to him then.

"Its your turn." He said softly, a very different tone from his old cold drawl. She climbed up onto the high table the Professor had transfigured from the round table. Closing her eyes, Hermione decided. Long gone were the cold hard glares, replaced by something akin to soft stares. Maybe she did trust him, even just a little, and soon she was sure she could do so fully. She felt herself freely falling from the five feet high table, only to be caught by the strong arms that were the fruit of years of playing Quidditch. She opened her eyes and she saw the new set of gray eyes- the ones she knew she would be able to trust in the near future. And for the first time in her life, Hermione Granger thanked Draco Malfoy.

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><p><strong>Please read and review! <strong>

**So, I think its time to give some question and answer portion. Just for fun.**

**Q1. What will happen to the babies? **

**A: _I honestly have no idea! Kidding. Of course, I know what will happen to some and some. I just couldn't divulge that information. _**

**Q2: Will there be wedding bells ahead?**

**A: _I can safely say that to Harry and Ginny, Hermione and Draco, but probably not in this story. I originally planned this story to be long, yes. But not to end in weddings yet. There's a story for that._**

**Q3: Will the couples stay together in the end?**

**A:_ In the later chapters, I haven't written anything yet (I really suck at organizing stuffs), there will be introduction of canon characters to spice up our love story. That much I could say but I can't reveal more information. I'm still thinking about it. I'm starting to waver on some facts._**

**Q4: Why is Ron so mean?**

**A: _Its mind-boggling, but its necessary. I won't bash Ron for long, but you'll get a glimpse of the inner workings of his mind for I plan to give one chapter for him. He'll be explained in the later chapters._**

**Q5: Are there any other seventh /eighth years?**

**A: _There are lots of them, mostly seventh years, (Ginny's year). Here is a list of the "current" couples that involved the Trio's year. Please bear in mind that their class is organized to accommodate only the "flat mates" for a better learning process. I found a smaller number a safe place to start with in my development, but a few characters will come out to strike humor and twist the story._**

**_Hermione-Draco_**

**_Ron-Padma_**

**_Blaise- Luna_**

**_Harry-Ginny_**

**_Neville-Hannah Abbott_**

**_Dean-Mandy Brocklehurst_**

**_Seamus- Susan Bones_**

**_As you can see, only 13 students (excluding Ginny) were from Harry's year. This is due to the fact that their year mates were privileged enough to get their NEWTs as they were of age, even outside Hogwarts. This is the year after the war, and those 13 chose to go back to school. But a few characters will surface sometime soon. _**

**_Hope that answers some questions. Its long, sorry. Please don't hesitate to ask for more. Thanks for all the reviews and alerts. Hope it'll keep coming!_**

**_~ladyelainemalfoy~_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all those who reviewed last chapter. And I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. University is hell-ish, but not to worry because I only have a week left. So there, I hope you will like this chapter. Draco's a bit OOC, but it is needed for the story. Thank you to my lovely beta, MilesHPFF.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

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><p>5- The Dilemma: Baby Cassie has Fever<p>

Hermione sat on the wicker chair in their room. Cassie cried on her arms and Hermione just didn't know what to do. Draco was out on the Quidditch pitch for some practice with the new Slytherin team. So much had changed since that first lesson.

Hermione and Draco still fought but more banter less killing- yes, sometimes it still involved hexing each other though most of those time involved having Ron as the source of fight. They agreed in a sort of schedule for Cassie and set her on a sleeping cycle. They agreed on alternating each day who to feed, bathe and all things she needed. And so far it's been working.

Except today.

All day, Cassiopeia cried since she woke up from her afternoon nap, half an hour after Draco left for Quidditch. It was Hermione's turn for the day so she grabbed Cassie from her bassinet, rocked her softly, hummed a song to her, feed her, and read to her and all things she could imagine. She couldn't go to Ginny and Harry because James, their baby, was in the Great Hall with Ron and Padma's child, Hugo. Blaise was with Draco so Luna and their babies, Lorcan and Lysander, were there too. Hermione had the whole common room to herself- oh and Cassie's.

She sat Cassie on the play pen and grabbed some toy blocks. It seemed to appease the young girl's attention for a few minutes and Hermione sighed in relief. Her eyes started to droop when she heard the familiar sound of her crying. She opened her eyes, alerted, only to see her daughter crying with an orange block on her hand and halfway on her mouth. It was too huge and hard for the young girl. Hermione took the now-slimy thing off Cassie's hand and wiped her face off her drool. She carried her daughter up and started walking out the room.

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><p>It was a good thing she remembered to conjure the little girl warmer clothes because the air was crisp chilly for Hermione. How much more for Cassie? She exited the castle doors and started walking on the lush green grass of Hogwarts. The sky was still on various hues of red, orange, purple and pink as the sun gradually traveled its path down giving way for the moon. It was enticing sight but Hermione was pulled by Cassie's sobs on her shoulder.<p>

She continued her way towards the pitch to where she saw seven hovering students clad in their green and silver uniforms. She squinted for the platinum blond hair of her partner and she was fortunate to find him. As soon as she entered the pitch, Luna saw her and waved to her, as much as she could with two babies on her hands. She waved back but didn't climb the stands. She gathered her voice from the rest and shouted his name as loud as she could.

The entire practice stopped, everyone's eyes were on her. She turned red but kept her face up. Draco dismounted his broom a few moments after the silence that ensued. His face full of concern and Hermione's heart fluttered a bit. But it quickly dissipated because she knew that the concern wasn't for her.

"What's wrong?"

"She doesn't stop crying and I tried all I know to stop her from doing so, but nothing worked. All the books I've read didn't help me with her and I just don't know what to do." Hermione's voice quivered. All the shame she had when she shouted for his name gone replaced with worry and panic for her daughter's situation.

She could feel her eyes pricked by the tears that threatened to fall but before it did, she wiped them harshly with her free hand and turned the sobbing Cassie to Draco. He gladly got her from Hermione even if he was sweating furiously. "Let me wash up and let's bring her to Madame Pomfrey." He said calmly, patting her shoulders awkwardly and leading her to the changing rooms.

He turned to the rest of the team then as he walked towards the room. "Dismissed. We'll have practice next Tuesday." He yelled, and the frozen Slytherins nodded and pulled back to reality. They flew to the changing room without any word said as all of them were still stunned by the show.

Blaise Zabini stopped beside Hermione and Cassie with Luna on his heels as she waited for Draco to finish changing. He had showered and silently got Lorcan from Luna's hand as the partners sat beside her.

"Are you okay Hermione?" Luna's dreamy and calm voice startled Hermione's musings. She couldn't quite think straight because of her worries to the still crying Cassie who kept struggling in her mother's arm.

Hermione nodded absentmindedly until she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Draco changed and smiling softly to her. "Shall we?" He asked, and she nodded, standing up and walking beside him.

"I'm sure she'll get well soon mate." She heard Blaise yelled to them as they neared the door to the castle. "She just has too many Nargles around her. I'll prepare my charm for her later to fend the offending creatures away, Hermione." Luna's voice followed.

She turned and murmured thanks although she knew they didn't hear her. The last thing she remembered there was the sound of two giggling babies.

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><p>"What's wrong with her Madame Pomfrey?" Draco asked calmly as he held in his arms a sobbing Hermione as the mediwitch bustled over their baby. He may look calm but inside he burned in anticipation and worry. Their little girl was crying all afternoon and by the time they arrived in the hospital wing, Hermione couldn't hold her anymore because her temperature had risen up and she was too hot.<p>

"Just a standard flu, Mr. Malfoy. I had given her a potion to lower her body temperature and pepper up potion just to prevent the cold she would likely to have. She's fine now, but I would like to keep her overnight for observations." She tucked in the almost six-month girl in a crib they had conjured as part of this project.

"Can… can we stay here with her tonight?" Hermione asked as she calmed herself down after finally bursting into tears on their way to the hospital. The matron looked at her and Draco closely, weighing her choices.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger, but I can't allow you. You look like you need rest yourself."

"But I want to be with my daughter, Madame. Please. It's killing me to know that she's sick and I'm not by her side to care for her."

The old witch looked at the students closely, and after a pleading look from Draco who was worried as hell to Cassie and Hermione's beings, she finally gave a small nod. "Well take the beds on both sides of her crib. I suggest you take this calming draught Miss Granger." And she gave her a goblet of clear liquid which Hermione gratefully accepted.

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><p>That night, Hermione couldn't sleep. She was on the right side of Cassie's crib under the white blanket of her cot. She lay on her side facing Cassie and Draco. She could just see Draco's outline above the crib, but it wasn't enough for her to know if he was sleeping. Her baby was now sleeping soundly than before and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She was worried to death when the girl won't stop crying that she cried herself when they arrived at the hospital wing. She now felt how it was when her mom would be frantic to keep fending for her when she's sick. She and Cassie just had the connection. She wondered whether Draco felt that too.<p>

The thoughts of the man on the other side of the crib filled Hermione's mind. She relished the warmth and comfort he brought when he looped his arm on her shoulders almost protectively when she burst into tears. She remembered how right she felt. And it amazed her. Just almost a month ago, she would be adamant into letting him touch her but now she just felt right. She was grateful he comforted her. But something just bothered her mind, what if he'll turn back to being the arrogant bigot ass he was? What would she do?

She was now used to having the quiet and loving father he became with Cassie and a good listener and friend with her. She almost couldn't remember the time when he had called her mudblood when she watched him interact with their baby. The only reminder she got was Ron's glares and the people's gossips around Hogwarts when Draco passed them by. It was like they were inside another world with Cassie and Hermione was lost outside it.

"You should sleep, Granger." He didn't stop calling her Granger though. He reasoned that old habits die hard and for him she'll always be Granger. She won't admit it but she liked the way he called her Granger. It was like an endearment, complete irony to what she felt a year ago.

"I couldn't. My mind just can't stop thinking." He chuckled. She liked hearing it. It was a rare moment to hear him laugh and the last time she could remember hearing that sound was at FLCD class, when they started over again.

"Why am I not shocked with that?" He said jokingly. He turned to his side so he was facing her. They could see each other between the railings of Cassie's crib.

"Yeah, I wouldn't be either." She said with a shrug and a soft smile playing on her lips.

"I was worried death about her. I thought I did something wrong and hurt her." Hermione murmured, only loud enough for him to hear, but was sure it wouldn't be heard farther. She looked at the blond girl in the crib, sucking her thumb while Hermione guessed that she dreamed. Her eyes filled love and worry quite overwhelmed with it in fact.

"I know." He responded. He was looking at her with concern in his eyes when Hermione stole a glance at him. "It's not your fault though. It happens normally." He continued.

"But I still felt it is. Now I know how my mom feels when I'm sick. Quite disturbing really," she said remembering the look of her mother when she was younger and she had a flu.

"I was worried too. I wonder if my parents felt that same worry when I'm sick." His voice came as a soft murmur that it was almost impossible for anyone to hear. Fortunately though the room was quite deserted and Hermione heard. She felt sad and pity him for not having the same loving childhood she had with doting parents. She didn't know the details of his childhood but from what she could imagine having meeting the older Malfoys, she won't wish having them as parents, ever.

"I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry, Hermione." She almost gasped when he said her name. It was rare thing and she held on it deeply. "I think this project is helping me realize I'm not my father after all."

"No, you're not. You're Draco, not Lucius." Both of them knew the meanings of that statement. They may look the same but inside both men had unique characteristics and Draco was a man on his own.

A comfortable silence surrounded them, only Cassie's soft snores were heard. It was like music to their ears, hearing their baby's soft sound meaning she's safe. It was nothing like her hysterical cries that night. And both students felt contented.

"Thank you, Draco." Hermione had taken a habit of calling his first name as both were reminded so much of the older Malfoy man in Azkaban with his surname, much to Ron's chagrin.

"For what?"

"You stayed calm and comforted me tonight."

"One should have stayed or else hell will break loose." He shrugged; both of them now lying on their backs, gaze upon the blank ceiling of Hospital wing.

"Quite right, but thanks still. You know, for holding me while I cried." Hermione's face reddened and was grateful that the room was dark.

"You're welcome then. Just don't get used to it. I don't have many experiences with crying women." He joked, glancing at her a bit but turning his gaze back on the ceiling.

"Sorry then." She huffed playfully.

"Oh, but you know, I like it a bit."

"Weird thing to say, Mr. Malfoy. Liking to hold hysterical women in your arms is not something a normal man would say." She teased.

"Didn't say I would want it to be a habit. I just like it because it's you." The last statement though came as a soft whisper, but Hermione could hear his sincerity. Her face reddened more, and she didn't reply. For once, she was speechless. She feigned her sleep with her eyes close and even breathing.

"That's what friends do, I think," was the last words he muttered before he turned to the far side away from her and fell asleep. Her heart couldn't help but flutter then die when he had defined that they're friends. She didn't understand why it happened though. They were just friends. Nevertheless, the admission did not explain the small pang of hurt in her heart.

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><p>The next morning came as the sunrays entered the slits in the translucent curtains of the hospital wing. Draco stirred from his sleep and groggily adjusted his eyes at the intruding light. Disoriented he was as to why he was at the hospital wing but soon as his mind wore off the remnants of sleep, memories of the event last night rushed to him.<p>

He swung his leg on the side of the bed, consequently hopping down the cot towards the stirring baby Cassie. The curly blond haired girl looked like she was dreaming and in her dreams were some kind of fly or butterfly that she was catching. Then he heard a soft ruffle of sheets on the other side of the crib, only to see the brown-haired woman, the mother of his child- it felt weird saying that- stirred too. However, she remained sleeping after.

Draco cooped up Cassie in his arms, taking a small test of her warmth. He was quite relieved when he learned that she is in normal body temperature now. Her small eyes started to flutter and soon her gray-brown orbs looked at him with curiosity as if she was trying to figure out whom he was. He smiled at the girl and cooed her when she giggled upon realization that he was familiar- he was her father.

"Shh, shh, sweet pea, you gave us quite a fright baby. Mommy had been worried sick and cried all night. Don't do that again." He said in a soft comforting tone as he rocked her slightly on his arms. The girl giggled and reached up to play with his blond locks that fell on his head upon looking down on her. She made slurping and cooing sounds. Both father and daughter chuckled when she tugged him hard.

Hermione woke up to see father and child happily playing with each other on the other side of the crib. She remained silently watching as Draco talked to their child. Her heart fluttered with the concern he showed not only to Cassie but also to her. She couldn't quite make her cut their moment so she remained on her bed, looking at them. She realized that Draco resembled his father less as time went by. Because she knew, Lucius was not a doting father but Draco is.

Her presence was announced when Madame Pomfrey entered and addressed her. "Miss Granger, I suggest you take this another dose of calming draught just to make sure. Mister Malfoy, please bring down Miss Malfoy so I could make last minute examinations on her." He obliged quickly but gentle and he walked to the side where Hermione was.

"How long have you been awake?" He asked quietly, his gaze focused on the matron who bustled around the surprisingly active baby on the crib.

"A while." She replied, sipping her potion from the goblet with her gaze settled to where his were.

"How are you feeling?" His voice contained more concern that she expected which made her brow raise a little. But on the back of her mind said that was because they're friends.

"I'm fine. A little worried still but better than last night." She said with a shrug as she put down the goblet on the bedside table.

"Good. I'm thinking we should have a family time today. Just to celebrate Cassie's recovery."

"I think that's a good idea. Let's head out after lunch. I want to finish my essay in Transfiguration first." She said as the mediwitch grabbed Cassie and brought her in her arms.

"Feeling good today, baby?" The young girl giggled to Hermione and the brunette smiled warmly to her. Together, the odd family unit exited the wing and continued their way to their room.

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><p><strong>PLEASE REVIEW! IT WOULD HELP ME A LOT!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Right. I want to thank all those who are supporting this story. Its a few day before my birthday and I _might_ be able to post another chapter on that day (17th). Lets hope I can. I thank you all in advance. **

**Well, if you know NaNoWriMo, I'll be joining in that this November. I've been toying the idea for too long and I just want to finish it. And so, I might not be able to post on that month, if I couldn't get five chapters ready by the end of October. I'm two chapters ahead. So three chapters wouldn't be that hard, I hope. pray for me! :D I might post the novel too, somewhere... So here's chapter 6. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and co. That belongs to JK Rowling. I only own Cassie and some kids. Thanks to Miles HPFF forums for beta-ing my chapter.**

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><p>6- The Second Lesson - Planning a Party<p>

Hermione walked down the fifth floor corridor towards the FLCD classroom from the Hospital Wing. She didn't know what their next task would be for this class. The first one was to trust and understand their partners, and then have a nice compromise with their schedules for their babies. But they were past that. Cassie had a sleeping pattern now, and both Hermione and Draco had already come up with a new schedule.

She opened the door to the room and was greeted with the brightly coloured cushions, round table, tea and biscuits, and the pairs around the table. The only person missing was the teacher herself. Hermione frowned and walked towards the empty place beside Draco. He nodded at her when she sat down and pushed the plate of biscuits slightly towards her. She shot a soft smile to him and took one.

Hermione's gaze settled upon the other pairs around the table. Blaise and Padma were sitting beside each other talking about something she couldn't hear, while Luna was reading her upside-down Quibbler. Harry and Ginny looked like they were arguing, and Draco was, er, doing the same thing she was.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked loud enough for the other side of the table to hear. Whoever did the table was probably insane, Hermione thought. It was too big for eight students and a teacher. Harry suddenly stopped arguing with Ginny to answer. "McGonagall's office."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "He punched a third year when he heard the boy telling how 'he' helped him." It was Ginny who answered. She had a finger pointed at Draco and Hermione looked at him with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was glad to hear that Draco helped a boy. It was unheard of since their first year. However, on the other, she was mad at Ron for being so childish. Draco only shrugged.

"Where's Professor Merrywood then?" She asked turning to the group. Everybody apart from Draco stopped what they were doing and looked at Hermione. The blond boy stirred his tea then sipped it. The rest shrugged and went back to their previous actions.

"She hasn't arrived yet. She's ten minutes late now." An aloof voice rang in her ears. Hermione looked around to see Draco sipping his tea again. "Oh, okay," were the only words that came out of her mouth. She took another biscuit and resumed her actions; watching the people in the room.

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><p>Ten more minutes passed, the professor still had not arrived. This time, it was Harry who was observing the group. He wondered how it happened that in the month of living with each other, no one had been seriously injured yet. Although something told him that it wouldn't be for long. Ron and Malfoy had a lot of tension between them. One small mistake could lead to a bloody brawl. Harry was startled when a small note appeared in his hand. He looked at the others to see that all of them had received notes too. A look of confusion came on to Harry's face as he recognized the note from his hand.<p>

_Students,_

_I want to apologize for not making it to this class. I have good news for you. First is that we will only meet as a group once a month instead of every week.__This__is because we, Professor McGonagall and I, deemed that the tasks we will give you would need more than a week to finish. However, each pair will have to meet me separately to keep me up-to-date with your progress._

_Second is your next task for this course. First birthdays are really important for kids and parents. So your task is to plan__ a birthday party for your kid. It is up to you though, if you want to conduct a joint party with another pair. I suggest that you only have at most three kids as your celebrants. Feel free to pick a date and choose your visitors.__I'll__leave you to it__._

_Good luck,_

_Professor Merrywood_

Harry tucked the note in his pocket then turned to the people in the room. They were talking either to themselves or in pairs, apart from Ginny who was huddled with Padma. _Girls_. He thought. Ginny stopped talking and looked at him, "So what should we do?" He asked.

"I think it'll be good if Hugo and James celebrate their birthdays together. They're cousins after all." Padma suggested. The Indian witch put her elbow on the table and leaned her head on her hand. "That's sounds great. Did she say that we could invite our parents? Mom and dad would love to be present on the first birthdays of their grandchildren." Ginny said. By this time, Harry had tuned out of the conversation. He had his full confidence in his partner. He gave her hand a little squeeze of assurance. But when he got a full-blown giggles from the redhead and brunette, Harry cringed and cursed Ron in his head. _I'll hex you to next century Ronald Weasley when I see you next._

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><p>On the other side of the table, Blaise and Luna were talking to. Their conversation involved no giggles, but more sighs, the latter coming from the Italian wizard. He couldn't make it through a whole conversation with the blonde girl when she had the bloody Quibbler in her hands. And to be honest, he rarely got a good conversation with the girl with or without it.<p>

"I think we should do it alone. I mean, we already have two babies and another one would make it harder to plan." He said without actually expecting some serious reply. "Yes, I think so too. Too many people involved tend to attract more Nargles. It wouldn't be a good sight for the babies." Luna said cocking her head to the side. She glanced at him, her face as serious as it could be. Blaise sighed for what seemed to be like his millionth time. _He just had to __get __used to it._

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><p>Draco put his cup on the table and looked around. He still wasn't comfortable around the people in the room apart from Granger and Blaise. Lovegood was still Looney to him, and the redhead girl was too fiery yet too girly for him. He would always have some tension with Potter but they had seemed to reach a silent agreement close to civility. The Patil girl though, he had to admit, had a nice head on her shoulders and could keep the idiot Weasel in line. For that, he was grateful to her, not that he'd tell her to her face.<p>

"I think we should start. Do you have any ideas? I'm assuming you'd want to celebrate Cassie's birthday without any other celebrant, of course." He turned to look at the brunette beside him and contemplated. He assumed that from the giggles at the one side of the table that the "Weasleys" had already planned a party for themselves. And Draco still had his pride intact. Never would his child celebrate her birthday with a Weasley, much less two Weasleys.

He was sure that Blaise would be practical and just celebrate his kids' birthday with only them planning. To this day, Draco still didn't have any idea how they came up with twins. It was nearly impossible for the Ravenclaw and his friend to make a mistake in Potions. He pushed the thought aside though, and he focused on the matter in hand.

"Yes, I'd prefer Cassie to be the only celebrant on her day. I think we should do independent guest lists then just combine it when we're done." He suggested. He didn't want to tire himself out for a simple list, not that his would be really long, especially if the guests would include people in Hogwarts.

"That could work." Hermione nodded her head in agreement. She took out a piece of parchment from her bag and her favorite quill and started scribbling. "I'm sure the house-elves could provide us the food and drinks. The venue, maybe our 'common room' would work, don't you think?" She asked and Draco just gave a nod. The kid might be really close to him, but he was still a man, and planning parties wasn't his forte. He had already given his opinion; he would let Granger do the rest. That's what girls did; at least that was what his mother did.

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><p>Hermione rolled her eyes. Draco was being Draco. What she meant was, he was being his usual 'almighty' self. It had been long since she last seen him like this. Usually, in classes whether it was FLCD or not, he'd equally do his job. However, every now and then, Draco would relax and let her do the rest. In some ways, she was glad he did this for it was proof that he trusted her. But on the other hand, she was irritated at this attitude. Hermione had always been an advocate of equality. And this was clearly not a sign of that.<p>

She glared at him when she put her quill down. She had already listed the things they would need and she was halfway through her guest list. But Draco just lounged and talked occasionally to Blaise. He would either nod or shake his head but he didn't utter a word and with this Hermione was rather annoyed.

He could at least say a few things. But other than saying that the guest list should be done separately, he hadn't spoken. She wondered if he was really listening to her. Hermione was still new to being 'friends' with him. She was too used to Harry and Ron who would listen to her when in classes. She might be used to doing the job alone, but at least the boys would cheer for her and offer her their sympathies. Hermione knew her partner was different, in so many ways.

"What's your problem?" She hissed. Draco stopped talking to Blaise then faced her. The dark-skinned wizard shrugged and went back to what Hermione thought could be moping. "What do you mean?" He asked almost innocently which further ignited the flame in her. _How dare he!_

"I said, what is your problem, _Malfoy?"_Hermione was far from consolable. But she would maintain her outward calmness. She tried to make it her goal to hide their fights. Both knew that privacy meant a lot.

"I don't understand. We're done right?" He frowned a bit. His features defined at their distance but Hermione didn't mind how he reminded her so much of a little boy, one that was different from the little Draco.

"No, we aren't. The guest list isn't done yet, and the decorations are needed. This is important, Draco. This is Cassie's first birthday." She spoke slowly trying to drive her point home. His frown deepened.

"And you're doing that one." He said with a tone of finality. "There shouldn't be any problem." He concluded. Hermione's fists clenched at her sides. She glanced at the other people in the room and was glad they hadn't heard them yet. For once, she was glad that the table was large.

"That is the problem. I am the only one doing it. This should be a partners' task. Not individual work." She said, her voice raising a small notch. Draco nodded his head which irritated her further. _Is that the only thing he__could__do?_ She asked herself, but shook it off. No, Draco was better than that.

"Planning parties is women's work." He stated. Hermione's eyes widened slightly. Where did he get that notion? Her inner advocate kicked in. She faced him fully; her back straight, and despite her smaller figure, Hermione looked intimidating. "No, planning parties is _both_men and women's work. I'll have you know that there are known party planners that are men." She said firmly.

"And planning kids' first birthdays are _both parents'_job." She added, daring him to argue with her. She knew she had a point. But she had a feeling she was forgetting something. Draco groaned then picked up the quill to scribble his thoughts on each thing in the list, all the while mumbling something akin to 'not all parents.' Hermione looked at him confused before it sank in. She got it right, and she felt a bit sorry. However, she was glad for two different reasons. First was that she got her way as he was now helping her in planning Cassie's birthday party, and second, she was happy because she had once again proved that Draco was not his father. In fact, he was quite different from him.

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><p>In the other chamber, Amelia Merrywood watched the events unfolded through some charm she had made herself. It allowed her to watch the class as though she was present in the room. It was like what she remembered from a muggle book called a "spy camera". Brilliant species, muggles were.<p>

She smiled to herself. She was sure she had made a good choice when she had accepted the job. The students were covering miles. As the muggles say, it was slow but sure. She turned her attention again to the images in front of her until the end of their class time came and the students stood from their seats.

Then the door opened in the FLCD classroom and a very sweaty Ronald Weasley entered. "What did I miss?" he said. Amelia chuckled wholeheartedly but made a mental note to do something between the redheaded and the blond boys.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Please Review! Thanks a lot!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for the support. I'm really sorry for the late post. I didn't do the three chapters 19-21, because my laptop got broken on the 17th. What a happy birthday that was for me. I'm really sorry for not updating.**

**So let me just say that there's a reason for everything. I try to be as canon as I can go, but this is fandom, my characters would never be truly IC. I'm sorry to disappoint you for the OOC-ness of the characters. I see them as they are, I'm sorry. I really try to, but well, the explanations would come later. I promise. Oh and to clarify Merrywood's decision not to be in the lesson last time, I made it that way because people act differently with a authority present. But she would never leave them away from her sight, after all she need to record their progress. She simply had to make reasons to be away at the meantime. **

**This is not beta-ed yet, so forgive me for the grammar and spelling errors. **

**I don't only anything except Cassie and maybe a few babies, there! Right, long A/N. sorry. Enjoy. oh, beware, Hermione is a bit OOC, or maybe a lot. But its needed! Onto the fic.**

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><p>"Malfoy, do you mind checking on Cassie? She's supposed to wake up from her nap." She asked the Slytherin while she flitted at the kitchenette of their "flat". He glanced at her form and shrugged. He did, however, followed her instruction for the command was actually in a better wording than that of what he got during the first hours of the day. Yes, cranky and panicked Granger was not what he wanted to deal with.<p>

He opened their door and strutted to the crib. It was different to the older crib they had a month ago. This one had lower base for Cassiopeia Granger-Malfoy had learned how to stand on her own and walked with a guide. They certainly didn't need an injury every few minutes.

"Hello, Cassie. I see you're awake." He said in a very calm manner. He refused to baby talk to her, and his partner refusing to do it as well. Their daughter, as weird as it sounded, had the perfect mix of their genes it seemed. The kid could recognize everyone she came into contact to even after the first time of being around them. She did better than most kids in the program. Add to the fact that Cassie could form more syllables than her almost 'cousins'. He still cringed to the thought of his kid being related to a Weasley and/or a Potter.

"Ready for the big day, my little star?" He lifted her off from her crib and smoothed down the wrinkles on her dress. Why Granger think it'll be better if she had Cassie dressed up before she take her nap was beyond him. He used his wand to straighten out her dress.

He settled her down on Hermione's vanity and he tried his best to fix the green ribbon on her hair. Cassie let out a sweet chuckle as Draco groaned in frustration when another strand escaped his ministrations. He glared teasingly at his daughter, but a soft upward tug of his lips gave him away. How Cassie managed to do it was another mystery to the young man. He gave up the attempt to fix her ribbon, and instead, he opted to just brush the blonde strands out of tangles. It seemed however that the kid an idea with the brush as Cassie tried her best to wrestle the thing from her father. "Cassie," he admonished but the girl paid no heed. She only gave her a dazzling smile and said, "Da." It was enough to pull a string in his heart- something he wouldn't admit unless under Veritaserum. He watched Cassie closely through the mirror and slowly, his lips curled up in a full smile.

It was rare, but Draco paid no mind. There wasn't any witness except for Cassie. And speaking of the girl, she turned to look at him curiously through the same mirror for a few seconds before she returned his smile with her own version and let out another, "Da."

"Draco! They're here!" Granger's voice rang from the common room. With one swift kiss on her forehead, he swept the now one-year-old girl to his arms. "Happy birthday my dear little star," Draco whispered to her ear, blowing off air in it as she squirmed and laughed until they opened the door to the common room.

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><p>Hermione smoothed down her skirt turning around to look one last time at the decorations that adorned their little flat in the castle. They had asked their flat mates to seek their refuge in the other places while the small family readied for the star's first ever birthday.<p>

Hermione had never felt so much anticipation and nervousness on other occasions apart from the previous OWLs, and the upcoming NEWTs. Who knew preparing in a little less than a month for the first birthday of your daughter would be that hard.

It was a true luck that Malfoy had been cooperative, insisting that he would take care of Cassie if she relived him of his job in planning. She weighed it of course, and if it meant that she could have a good night's sleep everyday despite the trouble of finding charms to change the decors and contacting all necessary people for the party, Hermione agreed. It wasn't for the reason that she didn't love her daughter enough, she was still wary of the little girl. Cassie never beamed at her as much as she did with Draco. It gave Hermione a small rush of sorrow.

She shook her head away of those thoughts. Today was not the time to dwell on those things, Hermione decided. She loved Cassiopeia as much as she loved herself, and today was her daughter's day. She pasted a smile on her face, nodding in agreement at the correct pink and purple colors that had lined the earthy hues of the common room for the day, and the strategic balloons hanging on the wall.

Hermione walked to the portrait and with a soft smile to the father and daughter that had come from their shared room, the Gryffindor opened the portrait. Their flat mates entered with their respective children. The teen-parents put down their kids in the rather large play pen that replaced the coffee table at the center of the room. The girls, Alice Longbottom and Dawn Thomas quickly grabbed the pink balloons, squealing and babbling. The boys however, grabbed the blocks and threw it to one another. "Sweet Circe! Thank goodness those were plastic." Ginny exclaimed as James threw a rather large orange block on Ron's son, Hugo.

"Welcome, I hope you don't mind our little celebration of Cassie's birthday!" Hermione, who the opportunity to walk towards her partner and daughter as the guests entered, said.

"Nonsense, Hermione. This place is incredibly perfect for our star." Padma exchanged schoolgirl-ish giggles with Ginny who immediately agreed.

"Perfectly done, Hermione and Draco. I couldn't see the Fraggles in the room that had once occupied it before you did all this. Did you have some ginger ale spread in the room?" Luna asked rather dreamily. Knowing full well that it was the best everyone would receive from the eccentric Ravenclaw, Hermione could only nod and blush.

"Thank you for attending." Draco smoothly countered as he put down Cassie down on the play pen with the other kids, realizing that Granger was still on the process of composing herself. He couldn't understand though how she would be embarrassed or whatever she felt right now. She indeed made a magnificent job for the common room was unrecognizable anymore. It had the girlish feeling yet classy all the same.

Clearing her throat, Hermione tried her best not to blush anymore at the compliments. She was still very unfamiliar with compliments and she felt as if she wouldn't ever be used to it outside of the classroom. "Right, why don't you take a sit first, while I finish up the table? I really hope you don't mind for it'll be a simple dinner for everyone." She quickly excused herself to go to the kitchenette especially extended for this occasion by Professor McGonagall herself. She had allowed the couple to invite two pairs more apart from the other three pairs co-habiting the place with them.

She flitted at the kitchen, righting the cake, and the silverwares on the table. Too busy to care for the guests at the common room, Hermione didn't notice the heated argument between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors about Quidditch. Clearly it had been the Slytherins who were on the bottom of the spectrum. Only Neville, who wasn't a die-hard fan of the sport like Ron and Ginny, was the one who wasn't part of the argument. Instead he was engaged in a particular talk of nature with Luna and Padma. The teens hadn't noticed that the blond girl from the playpen had already escaped it confines and had walked to the kitchen to follow her mother.

Hermione, having been too focused correcting the last strawberry on the cake, failed to notice too the arrival of her daughter. Cassie waddled towards Hermione, intent on getting her attention. She could have shouted for "Ma" or "Da" and say in her little words what she wanted, but the one-year-old was rather bold and decided to get Hermione's attention by walking to her.

Cold, chubby hands touched Hermione's bare leg causing sharp tingles spread to her body, shocking her out of her concentration. This left the Gryffindor barely time to react for the next moment she knew, she was on the table with the vanilla coated chocolate cake smashed with strawberries sticking on her hair. The instant shock she received had been enough to get her out of focus and be jumpy causing her to knock the cake she spent three hours to make. A loud giggle echoed in the room, pulling Hermione to the reality.

People quickly gathered in the kitchen only to be greeted with the sight of Hermione's dirtied figure and the overall sticky aura emitted by the smashed cake. Cassie laughed heartily at her place beside Hermione's leg, and the Gryffindor felt too embarrassed.

"Why did you do that?" Hermione shrieked at the blonde girl on the spur of the moment. She tried to wipe the sticking chocolate from her blouse but instead spread it more. She shrieked again in frustration and crouched down glaring at the girl.

For a brief moment, Hermione forgot that she was the mother of the girl. She forgot that Cassie was a year old kid, and as much as the girl's milestones were too far from her "mates", the blonde couldn't understand her. "You shouldn't have done that!" She raised her voice. In that moment, everybody had entered the kitchenette, leaving only Dean and Parvati to watch the other kids.

Cassie began to cry which Hermione found more annoying than ever. She clenched her fists to her sides trying to at least keep herself from hurting the girl. But as the seconds passed, she couldn't help it. She shouted 'Stop it!' repeatedly and paced around, consequently leaving trails of dirt on her path. Hermione, completely unaware of her surrounding, knew that Cassie could understand her ever for a very concise manner. She had taught her well, she decided. But instead of stopping from her wails, Cassie only continued to cry, leveling her whimper to Hermione's shrieks.

Then the older girl made a sharp turn in front of the girl. She was fed up. She raised her hand, intent on covering Cassie's mouth, but someone stopped her. "What do you think you're doing Granger?" Draco hissed as he tightened his grip on her risk.

"Nothing," she replied sarcastically. Of course, she planned on doing something, but that didn't mean she planned on hurting Cassie. She might be mad, but still enough to know that the blonde girl was still a child.

"Right nothing, then tell me why are you acting like a kid." he started; a dark chuckle escaped his lips. "No, tell me why are you acting MORE of a kid than Cass?" He asked glaring. Hermione returned his gaze, as powerful as he had sent.

"I planned on shutting her up, not hurting her more. Is that to your liking, Malfoy?" She asked sweetly and awkwardly as a strawberry fell from her hair and dropped to their feet. She pried her wrist from his and brushed past him.

"You wouldn't understand, because you weren't the one who did these preparations anyway." She muttered darkly only for his ears. She walked past him, ignored Harry's call of her name, Ginny's looks of pity, Blaise's indifference, Luna's dreamy looks, Padma's sympathetic gaze, and Ron's glare. Nothing mattered as she strutted to her room, leaving a messy trail after her. As soon as the door clicked shut, tears freely fell from her eyes.

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><p>Everybody had left the three other pairs back to the rooms, Neville and Hannah to their flat near the Gryffindor tower, and Dean and Parvati near the dungeons. Malfoy was out though. He didn't care for curfew and Hermione couldn't care less.<p>

She had feigned sleep when the blond man entered and tucked the now calm Cassiopeia to her sleep. She waited with baited breath until she heard the door clicked shut before she turned from her side position to lying on her back. She turned her head slightly to the side and looked at the peaceful face of her daughter as she sleep.

Guilt covered Hermione's heart as she remembered how much of a kid she acted that night. It certainly wasn't worth a temper tantrum especially to a one-year-old. She ruined her preparations herself. Cassie was not to blame, she was. Hermione knew she was at fault.

She stood beside Cassie's crib, listening to her soft breathing. A warm glow instantly crept to Hermione's heart, replacing the guilt. She recognized it as love. She hated herself for being a bad mother to her kid and making Cassie cry over a thing she didn't understand fully. She loved her daughter, and she regretted her actions. Hermione wiped a lone tear from her eye.

Cassie stirred from her sleep and her eyes fluttered open. She looked at Hermione curiously, and the Gryffindor made a move to pick her up. She cuddled her to her chest and rocked her back and forth. Cassie began to shut her eyes slowly, but never fully. Every time Hermione stopped rocking, she would open her eyes and whimper.

Hermione spied the rocking chair at the corner and made a move to sit there. She hummed a lullaby her mother used to sing to her as she rocked. Cassie's whimper lessened. "Shh, shh, my sweet, Mommy's sorry. She didn't mean to be mad at you. She was just shocked, is all. She promised not to do it again." She whispered after she hummed the last not.

She shut her eyes closed and continued to rock. She placed a firm kiss on Cassie's forehead as they drifted to sleep.

The image that had greeted Draco when he arrived was that of Hermione cuddling Cassie to her chest on the rocking chair at the corner. He couldn't describe the feeling that rushed to him for it was unfamiliar. _Really unfamiliar._


	8. Chapter 8

"Can you pass the fluxweed please?" Hermione asked Ginny, her Potions partner for the day. She was slumped over her cauldron, careful not to let her perspiration drop on her brew. She was too focused on her work that she barely recognized the looks that the redhead gave her.

"Thank you," she said upon receiving the container with the ingredients. The brunette didn't look up to her friend. Instead, she delicately poured two scoops of the fluxweed on her potion.

Meanwhile, Ginny took down the notes they needed for said potion. Every few moments, the redheaded girl would look up from her parchment and cast a worried glance over her fellow Gryffindor. Consequently, she would sigh, louder than the preceding ones. It didn't deter her friend's concentration however, and that left her frustrated.

Finally, Hermione sat down on her chair; a sigh of relief escaped her lips with a hint of a smile tugging from it. She waved her wand leisurely over their cauldron and she only needed to wait for fifteen minutes and they were done.

The Gryffindor glanced across the room, her eyes meeting the distinguishable blond hair concentrated over the pewter cauldron in front of him. She sighed, in time with Ginny's. For the first time in the past hour, Hermione took notice of the redhead's sigh and looked at her friend.

"Why, Ginny? Anything wrong with Harry or James?" She asked, confused. She distinctly heard not a sigh of relief, but of anxiety. Why for? She couldn't remember seeing Harry or James in danger or something.

"Nothing Hermione. Not about me," the younger witch replied, glancing up from her work and dismissed the brunette.

"If it s not about you or them, then who?" Hermione didn't pay any mind to the dismissal and pushed through. She didn't like the sound of that sigh. It distinctly sounded like hers.

"It s you." Ginny said placing her quill across her parchment. She was done writing and could now fully concentrate on her friend.

"Me? Why me?" The answer didn't do anything good for the student's curious mind. In fact, it added more to the confusion.

"I'm worried about you. You're not talking to Malfoy," Ginny started and quickly cut off Hermione when she opened her mouth to speak. "No, no. Don't deny. I noticed. Cassie's not doing great too. I've been watching you three from afar and I'm worried. Since that birthday party, you and Malfoy still hadn't talked to each other. It s just that, its pretty weird for someone so worried about her grades." The younger witch finished, but bit the corner of her lower lip; she gave away the fact that she wanted to say more.

Hermione, however, didn't notice Ginny's anxiety. She only focused on her words. She couldn't deny it. She and Malfoy hadn't been on talking terms since she raised her voice to her daughter, even if she already said sorry to the girl. She knew the connection that the father and daughter had, and she could understand why he'd been mad at her. However, Hermione's pride prevented her to apologize for something she didn't do, especially to him.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to worry you though," Hermione whispered, her eyes focused on the blond guy across their table. His head was now buried over the parchment that should contain their observations, while the Italian Slytherin beside him took his turn in stirring their potion. "You're right. We're not on talking terms. And it s affecting our grades." She said quietly, and flinched a bit.

Ginny saw it, and followed her gaze. The redhead, though she couldn't quite understand the worry she'd been feeling, knew how important it was to Hermione to maintain her grades and to have a good relationship with her daughter. The brunette had a big heart and quite family oriented. It hurt to see her friend hurting over some transgression in the past.

"Why don't you just talk to him? Surely he would understand. Or just show him that you won't do it again. You love Cassie, show him that," Ginny suggested as she turned her gaze away from the man and back to her friend. Hermione glanced at her with sad eyes and shook her head.

"I don't know where to start. He'd been so over protective of her ever since." The older witch replied. She sighed but stood up from her seat as Professor Slughorn walked to their table and inspected their work.

"Wonderful Miss Granger, Miss Weasley. Great job as always," the bubbly professor complimented. Both girls blushed but Ginny quickly shook her head with sad eyes upon looking at her friend. She had to do something. And she just had the perfect plan.

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><p>"Yo're still not talking to Granger," Blaise stated as he scribbled on his parchment, copying the Transfiguration notes on the board. McGonagall still chose to handle the OWLs and NEWTs takers while giving the lower years to the new apprentice, Professor White. He glanced at his seatmate once he was sure the Headmistress' attention wasn't on them.<p>

Draco Malfoy sat on his seat with an aura akin to total serenity. Years of practice of hiding emotions could fool an outsider, not Blaise. He had known the blond since they were in nappies. He knew how to read his friend's emotions through subtle observations and his environment. Leaving with him in the same dormitory for seven years helped too. So Blaise wasn't fooled by the calm demeanor Draco was showing everyone.

"I thought you wanted to change," he prompted, not looking to his companion. He felt Draco's eyes on him but he knew better than to look. Draco was intimidating, and nobody could escape that unless you won't look in his eyes. Blaise continued to write, and occasionally listen to McGonagall as she explained how important changing an animate object to another animate object for it would appear on their NEWTs.

"And I want to," Draco drawled, folding his arms on his chest as he leaned back on his chair, turning his attention back to their professor. Blaise sighed and shook his head. He glanced at Draco and raised an eyebrow on him. He tutted but turned back to his parchment. "You certainly aren t showing any signs of change."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, a small tug of his lip downward was the only sign of his emotion.

"If you really wanted to change, you would have talked to Granger, instead of ignoring her. She's still your partner," Blaise drawled slowly as if Draco was a five year old.

"Be thankful I'm not insulting her at every chance I get, that's a change," the blond replied, his eyes glancing on the brunette in question.

"Yes, yes, we all know that. But you've passed that stage already. And you're fight is a petty thing, if you ask me." Blaise leaned on his seat, his quill beside his parchment, and his ink well capped tightly. His eyes were on McGonagall, pretending to listen as she droned on her subject, oblivious to the boys' topic.

"How come it s trivial? She almost hit Cassie over some destroyed cake. Her reason is petty, but not her actions. Hitting a child isn't a good parenting," Draco said firmly, looking at Blaise as if he sprouted another head.

"That she did, but she also did apologize to Cassie after, you said that yourself," Blaise pointed out, ignoring Draco's looks.

"But she isn't proving that she is sorry. How would I trust her not to hit Cassie?"

"Did you give her the chance to prove herself?" Blaise asked pointedly, finally returning Draco's gaze. He dared the blond to answer, but he knew he was right, and Draco was wrong. He wasn't giving Granger any chance to prove herself as Draco was always with their daughter. He wouldn't hear of any explanation that the Gryffindor had and he avoided her like a plague. Draco was oblivious how his ignorance was affecting him, Granger, Cassie and their project. But Blaise wasn't. And he was determined to help his friend. If not for him then for the blonde baby girl who charmed her way through everybody's heart. When Draco finally lowered his eyes then turned his attention back to McGonagall, a smirk made its way to Blaise's face and as he turned his gaze to the other direction, his eyes met a certain redhead's bright blue orbs. And suddenly the two of them had a plan.

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><p>The night came and the library found an odd group staying in its confines, talking in hushed whispers as the strict librarian subtly shoot them a glance quite often. They occupied a small table of four around the corner near the shelves and beside the window. The candles gave an eerie glow on the group yet no one except the librarian watched them carefully under keen eyes. The whole Hogwarts had been used to seeing them togeth for a week or so, and more used to seeing them with another pair for almost three months now. There was nothing new about it.<p>

As much as the overall assumptions of the student body about nothing new with the group of four students being around each other was right, Madam Pince's assumption wasn't entirely wrong too. For there was something new between the students. Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, Blaise Zabini and Ginny Weasley huddled together in a small table in hushed tones meant something, the old librarian just couldn't point it out.

"We need to push them together." Ginny said, earning a nod from her lover. Harry knew better than to disagree with his girlfriend.

"No, we don't need to meddle on their things." Blaise argued. Frustrated as he might be with Draco's behavior lately, he wasn't entirely favor into nudging the Granger-Malfoy pair to connect their gap. It was their life after all.

"But Hermione's miserable. She didn't mean it." The redhead frowned and bit her lip, worrying after her best friend. As much as she wanted Hermione to be her sister, she was beginning to doubt her brother's intention and if he'll be able to grow up ever. She just wanted the older witch to be happy.

"And Draco's going back to being a loner, and grumpy. He talks only to you. I bet the Wrackspurts made him do it. He had so many of them buzzing over him during Cass' birthday." Luna offered, her voice dreamy as usual, but it held the truth. Maybe not the Wrackspurt thing in her speech- everyone had learned to look beyond it- but she had told the truth about Malfoy. He avoided everyone's presence except for Blaise. Before, he would talk civilly to them for the sake of Hermione and their budding friendship. However, after the blonde girl's ruined birthday bash, it was like they took one step forward, and two steps back.

Hermione got the brunt of his self-imposed silence. He wouldn't talk to her even around Cassiopeia. Draco would merely give her a nod or a shake of his head, but never maintain eye contact with her. It was obvious to their flatmates, the other three pairs usually found themselves talking about it among themselves. With the exception of Ronald Weasley. He refused to talk anything about Malfoy. He could tolerate Cassie, loved Hermione, but loath Malfoy. And this thing between the pair only gave him another reason to loat the blond.

"Exactly!" Ginny exclaimed. "They're both miserable, and I can't see any of them making a move. If we let this continue, I'm sure somewhere along the road, they'll explode on each other. It'll affect all of us, even the professors' efforts to instill Interhouse Unity in all of us. Hermione and Malfoy are the perfect example of this nonsense if we succeed." She stated smugly, leaning back to her chair, arms crossed on her chest.

"Let's say hypothetically I agree to this plan, how do you suggest we do it on action?" Blaise asked, mimicking the redhead's action with a impassive look on his face. Harry, meanwhile, watched the two talk with each other. He had to be honest to himself that he was on Blaise's side. He knew Hermione. She wouldn't like it one bit if she learned what they were plotting behind her back. The brunette was the type of woman who was very independent of her own life. He just knew better than to announce his thoughts loudly on Ginny's presence. Unless of course his girlfriend went overboard.

"We set them up on a date." Ginny replied nonchalantly, lifting up her hands to inspect her manicured nails. The table earned looks from the dwindling number of students in the library with what happened next. Harry pushed his chack out of the table, shaking his head to Ginny, a look of slight horror in his face. The Slytherin on the other hand stood from his chair quickly, horrified and frustrated.

"The two needed a push to friendship not romance, Weasley! Are you out of your mind?"

"I'm on his side, Gin. That's going overboard, really. Hermione won't like it one bit." Harry chimed in.

"Of course not. I just know better. It wasn't like its a romantic date. It's a friendly date. Don't get your knickers in a wad, Zabini. Sit down." The woman hissed, shooting a glance on her boyfriend who was still looking at her disappointed.

"Oh Harry, I promise its just a simple date, friendly date, just to force them to talk really." She added. Harry sighed. He really didn't know if that's a good idea.

"Whatever you want, Weasley. I'm out of it." Blaise said finally, raising his hands in defeat and left the table. Ginny merely rolled her eyes.

"What do you think Luna?" The Gryffindor asked the Ravenclaw who maintained her silence throughout the debacle except for that one moment. "I think its romantic, Gin as much as you deny it to be." She answered bluntly and followed her partner with a skip on her every step. Maybe it was simply romantic. Who knows?

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><p><strong>AN: I apologize for this super late update. I've been to hell and back with the month of November focusing on my original fiction. I managed to get on to half of my goal, and its a good success to me for my first time in joining NaNoWriMo. I have no excuses but hard life in Uni come December. I won't try to promise for faster updates because I write when the mood strikes, I'm sorry. But i hope you enjoy this chapter. It'll do well if you re-read the last chapter. Do check out the banner for this story in my profile! **

**Elaine.**

**P.S. Please review. It keeps me going. ^^)**


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione woke up from the sound of dread and pain coming from the bed next to her. They were only a feet apart by the side table at the middle of their beds, and it shocked Hermione to see her partner tossing and turning in his bed. They've shared a room together for two months now, and not once did she see him having a nightmare. The clock told her it was only four o'clock in the morning. It was a miracle their daughter hadn't woke up with his whimpers.

The witch didn't know what to do. She wanted to soothe him off his nightmare, but she didn't want to complicate things farther for them. They had their issues far worse, and knowing about his nightmares would degrade his dignity. It was counterproductive on what she hoped to achieve. She wanted friendship once more. Still, the overwhelming urge to help him won. Hermione found herself rousing from her bed and taking the small distance to his.

"Shh, shh. Draco, you're fine." She whispered in a motherly voice she often used to calm her daughter after being roused unexpectedly._ "No! Don't hurt her! Please,"_ the man on the bed whimpered in pain, tossed in his bed, not once acknowledging Hermione's presence.

She rubbed his back in soothing circles and hugged him to her chest, all the while whispering soothing nonsense to him. She didn't understand his nightmares, but she had a vague feeling she knew what it was. Slowly, his breath calmed, his muscles relaxed, and Hermione gently laid his head back to his pillow. Before she stood up from his bed, a cold hand stopped her. It gripped her wrist as if afraid to let go.

Hermione looked back to him, found him with eyes open wide and a mix of gratefulness and fear. She smiled to him and shook her head 'no'. She won't tell that to anybody. That was the first time it happened, and even if it happened many times, she would still not tell anybody. It wasn't her right to do so. It wasn't her story to tell. Draco released a sigh of relief, and returned her small smile of his own. "Thank you," he breathed almost inaudbly. But in the silence of their room, with only Cassie's breathing humming lullaby to them both, Hermione heard. She cocked her head to the side, and smiled wider. "You're welcome," she replied in the same breathy voice. And soon both of them feel in deep lumber for four more hours in their own beds, only to awaken by the giggles of their daughter, bubbly and happy girl she was.

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><p><em>The night they shared was a catalyst.<em> The morning found them together, not a slight tension between them as Hermione fed Cassie while Draco took his turn to prepare himself for the day. The witch had taken care of herself first while Draco dressed their daughter, and it was now her turn.

"Come on, sweetie, its a beautiful day outside, we want to play out, don't we?" She cooed, as she pushed the small spoon gently in the little girl's mouth, which earned her a giggle and in turn Hermione smiled fondly. Cassie was such a good girl. It was with regret she remembered her childish bout of anger which caused her to ruin her daughter's birthday.

The door to their room opened, and Draco came in. Hermione sat straight and put the bowl of mased potatoes down on the side table and picked up Cassie from her crib as she stood. She looked at Draco with a blank expression waiting for the worse yet to arrive.

"Relax Granger, I'm not going to bite your head off. It was wrong of me to hold on a grudge to you on something you've already apologized for." He drawled, taking Cassie in his arms. Shocked, Hermione fought the urge to drop her jaw. She didn't know that he saw her saying sorry to their kid. But she was extremely ecstatic. She knew they were heading to the right direction.

"Right, thank you, I guess. And I'm still sorry. You were right, I was acting more of a child that Cassie."

"The world must be coming to an end. I just heard Hermione Granger admit that she was wrong and I, Draco Malfoy was right," he teased, a small chuckle escaped from his lips as he grabbed his cloak on his way. It was Hogsmeade weekend after all.

"Git," Hermione retorted, a roll on her eyes and light chuckle in return. She found that she liked Draco's laugh very much. It was such an honest sound. She wouldn't mind it hearing anytime.

"Tut tut, Granger. Little ears," the wizard's voice rang from the common room. A nice chuckle came next. Hermione shook her head, a small sincere smile on her face as she took one last look at the mirror at the vanity and took her own cloak. She heard the portrait door clicked shut, and the witch gave a slightly disappointed sigh. Despite their truce back in place, Draco hadn't waited for her. She headed out of the common and on her way to the portrait door when a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air and hovered in front of Hermione.

She gasped in shock and slowly reached out to read the parchment. A small frown made its way to her face as she read- why of all weekends, Professor Merrywood asked her to meet her on a Hogsmeade weekend? Hermione folded the letter with its plain cursive handwriting of the professor in tact. She was told to meet the woman in the Room of Requirement about her grades. That alone gave her a fright and some unknown feeling. But being quite opposed to Divination, the witch ignored it and made her way to the Seventh floor instead of the original plan to go to the Great Hall. Draco and Cassie surely could wait for a few minutes.

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><p>Draco strutted down the stairs and ultimately to the Great Hall with an almost two year old Cassie in his arms. The enormous double doors of the hall was open and a constant rush of students coming in and out for breakfast was present. Finally arriving at the Great Hall, Cassie began to struggle out of Draco's arms. As the girl had been practicing her walk, which was a lot better compared at her birthday, the wizard slowly put her down. "Don't run, Cassie. Don't run." He warned, as he released the girl's hand, doubtful that the girl understood her. The small blonde girl was after all focused on James Potter, who was now at the Gryffindor table with his parents, throwing food at his cousin, Hugo Weasley. They didn't look as if they heard every sermon that came out from their mothers.<p>

Draco groaned as instantly, Cassie broke into a run- more like a waddle- and he knew he'd be spending breakfast at the Gryffindor table. Lucky for Blaise, he was at the Ravenclaw table. That one was not likely to eat him alive. Unlike him, Draco was sure he'd be eaten as soon as he went at the lion's den. "Jamie!" Cassie yelled, attracting the attention of everyone around them.

The entire population of Hogwarts had gotten used to the kids now, especially since they've learned how to talk. The small number of seventh years, only rounding to approximately 10 pairs with their children wasn't a distraction, as much as they were the source of amusement from the student body. Another groan was released by Draco as he followed closely, hunched down, hands stretched out in front of him ready to catch his daughter if she tripped.

Luckily, his daughter has quite his affinity as an athlete, because in record time, she was at the Gryffindor table, holding onto the bench with James Potter smiling brightly to her. "Cash!" James yelled in return. Hugo piped in with a muffled ''Ash' as his mother, Padma Patil gently pushed a spoonful of baby food on him. Cassie tugged James' sleeve happily, causing Ginny to instantly move and catch her son before he fell. "Jamie, up!" Cassie said, as soon as Draco arrived.

"Good morning Malfoy," Padma greeted him quite happily as she once again pushed another spoon of food in her son's mouth. Her partner, Ron Weasley, grunted in greeting half maliciously and half not. He was trying, Draco could tell, but he knew that once he cornered him alone, there's bound to be an explosion. The Potters greeted him with a rather cheery 'Morning', which roused up a suspicion from him. Nonetheless, he ignored it as he felt a tug on his cloak. _"Dada, UP!"_ Cassie said, tapping the bench with her free arm.

"Morning," he replied before he bent down and sat Cassie on the bench beside James and he too sat beside his daughter. If only Granger was her. Speaking of the witch, he was sure she should be here by now. "Where's Hermione, Malfoy?" Harry Potter asked voicing Draco's own question in mind.

He looked back at the door as if expecting to see the witch in question arrive, but no bushy brown haired witch came in. "She was in the room, following us, I'm sure." He spoke trying to be certain. But if she was following him, where was she?

Before he could think of another reason, a hoot of an owl interrupted them as a tawny barn owl swooped in and dropped a small parchment on his empty part of the table. He looked sideways down on Cassie, thankful that she was rather busy babbling away on her new best friend James and Hugo. The kids had their own small world with their own language. The people around him, namely Harry Potter, Ginny and Ron Weasley, and Padma Patil looked at him curiously and on the parchment. The other Gryffindors at the table were too busy among each other. Perhaps because they were younger than the group.

"Read it Malfoy," Patil said squinting as if recognizing the penmanship on the parchment. "From Professor Merrywood," she said confidently and indeed she was right. He was instructed to go to the Room of Requirement for a bit of counseling about his grades. Did she know about his row with Granger? Did she? Draco was far too focused contemplating behind his indifferent mask to notice the Ginny and Harry's hand squeeze, and the girl Weasley's wink at the eccentric blonde on the Ravenclaw table.

"I have to go. Potter, Merrywood said to leave Cassie with you. Any harm, Potter, any harm, and you'll face the end of my wand." he warned, kissing his daughter's forehead who was ignorant of what's happening because James and Hugo were keeping her busy.

"You-" Ron stood almost offended and Malfor became amused. Seriously? Just a threat on Potter and the Weasel was ready to launch? "Relax Weasel, this is my daughter I'm talking about, I'm sure Potter understands." He said chuckling mirthlessly. Padma tugged Ron back as his face looked ready to burst in its redness. "Yeah, yeah, Malfoy. Consider it heard." Harry replied shooting a warning glance towards the redhead.

Draco took one more kiss on his daughter and turned around to leave, grabbing two green apples just in case. He failed to see the warning glance of Harry to his mate, the wink Ginny gave to Luna, the amuse look of Padma who had caught on what's happening through keen observation, the far from amused glare of Blaise who stared at his best mate as he strode out of the Great Hall and the exaggerated twinkle in the eyes of Professor Merrywood of whom Ginny and Luna had asked for cooperation as she entered the hall the moment Draco stepped out.

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><p><strong>I'm so very sorry for taking so long. This chapter had been with me for months but I'm hesitant to upload it. I feel like it's incomplete, and then Uni works came, I couldn't write chapter 10. But it's so clear in my mind now, I'll upload Chapter 10 on Monday ^_^ Hope you're still with me. I'm so sorry.<strong>

**PS. I think 'More than Meets the Eye' would get an update too. :) Please review! I'd really love to hear your thoughts.**

**-elaine**


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione arrived in front of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy at the seventh floor corridor. Empty as always, the woman walked back and forth three times in front the wall, with one thought in mind. _I need a place to talk to Professor Merrywood._ At her final stride a wooden door slowly appeared through the wall, and determined, Hermione reached out to open it. She was more determined to finish the conversation to go with her daughter and her partner more than anything.

Frustration was made known by the sigh that escaped her lips upon entering the Room of Requirement. A loveseat sat in the front of the fireplace with two large armchairs on each side. A mahogany coffee table was place on the center of the ensemble upon a carpeted floor. The room gave a warm, orange glow from the already ablazed fire. Otherwise, the room was completely empty.

Realizing that the older witch might be on her way, Hermione decided to wait for her for a few minutes. She still had forty-five minutes left for breakfast before they leave Cassie with Madame Pomphrey who had been the actually ran a daycare center in her cozy hospital wing for the seventh year kids. The brunette walked her way towards the loveseat and took a book from the coffee table which she hadn't noticed when she first arrived. Fifteen minutes, that's all she could give.

The first five minutes has gone by silently with only the cackling fire and the soft rustle of turning pages from Hermione's book only the company of the witch. On the next five, Hermione had already taken over the whole loveseat, with her body spreadout and head resting on the arm. She did this to stop herself from leaving. But where was the professor?

The door opened with a start. The witch on the couch sat up quickly and frantically closed the book she'd been reading. The witch's moves were so clumsy that her cheeks were tainted with dark pink when the book, instead of dropping on the coffee table, dropped on the floor with its pages open and folded awkwardly.

The newcomer had the look of confusion and amusement as he watched the witch in the room. The blond wizard leaned on his side, arms crossed on his chest with a smirk on his face. Deciding to take pity on the other occupant of the room, Draco cleared his voice.

"Granger, what in Merlin's face are you doing here?" He drawled, but lacked the malice in his voice.

The witch jumped at his voice. Hermione turned around to see her partner, then a confused look etched to her face. Furrowed brows, pursed lips, Hermione almost glared at him before looking away and sighed. They've only made up their sensitive relationship- if you can call whatever they were that.

"What are you doing here?" She said plopping herself down on one of the armchairs, instead of the love seat. "Aren't you supposed with Cassie? Where's Cass?" As if on cue, Hermione's hostility-slash-embarrassment was replaced by frantic worry. Images of a hurt Cassie entered her mind until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Merlin, Granger, calm down. I wonder how Potter and Weasel actually lived with it all these years. You worry like there's no tomorrow," Draco said in an amused tone as he walked towards the armchair across her, and sat.

"Professor Merrywood asked my presence here." He said answering her first question. "And Cass is with Potter, playing with James."

With a sigh of relief, Hermione relaxed a bit, leaning her back fully on the chair. "Professor Merrywood asked me here too, said it is about my grades." She explained, then frowned. "She's ten minutes late."

Draco merely shrugged and took the book on the coffee table. It was the same book Hermione was reading when he came in. There were few pages that were folded but otherwise the book was in tact. It was about family planning and parenting._ Typical._ Draco thought.

"She really has to show up." Hermione grumbled and crossed her arms on her chest. With an angry pout, she watched th flames of the fire dance to the unheard music of silence. The woman needed to learn how to be punctual. Hermione had half the mind to teach the older witch that.

Draco put the book down after inspecting it and settled back on his chair. He watched the witch across him and noted the pretty little pout of her lips. He quickly stopped himself. That was Hermione Granger. His train of thought would do well for him, for both of them really. He just mimicked her gaze and watched the silent performance before him.

Just then, a small pop echoed through the room. A small yellowish parchment appeared from the thin air above the coffee table, between Hermione and Draco. Both the students eyes followed the parchment as it floated down, swaying slowly with the almost non-existent current, and finally landed on top of the book at the coffee table.

Hermione glanced at Draco with curiosity before she leaned over and took the parchment. She read the letter aloud.

_"Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger,_

_I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to meet up with you. However, you both being in here is not a mere coincidence. Instead, it is a premeditated plan. I have been aware of your current dispute, and it has been affecting both your grades and your daughter, Cassiopeia._

_In lieu of this, you are not allowed to leave the Room of Requirement until you haven't settled your differences, including the reasons of your petty row. Think of it as a repeat of your first lesson, though instead of arriving with a schedule of who to take care of your daughter, please arrive with a deeper understanding of your partner. In that way, you will both know when to elongate your patience and tolerance._

_I know you're not the best of friends, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, but think of this as an extra credit and a friendly date in one. Please use your time wisely._

_Professor Alice Merrywood_

_P.S. You can try and think of what kind of room you'd want to be in, however, a trusted house-elf of mine would ensure that you wouldn't leave the room until I say so. Good luck!"_

And by that, the parchment glowed and disappeared. Hermione looked at Draco, now with surprise and confusion. How could the woman do that to them. Whatever their relationship was, it was still on the rocks. And she seriously believed that time was the solution to their problem. But the fact remained. They wouldn't be allowed to leave until they've settled whatever they needed to settle.

"So..." she started, only to room changing ever so slightly. The fireplace slowly dissolved and was replaced by a huge window overlooking the lake. The room expanded, and soon she felt as if her chair was dissolving too. Afraid that she'll fall on the floor, Hermione stood up as Draco did the same.

"What are you doing?" She shrieked as the chairs and the table disappeared.

"Changing the scene. Its too stuffy in there." Draco replied. "Besides, I'd rather have an outlook at the grounds, and see Cass from afar you know. Its already awkward as it is," he drawled and walked towards the window.

Closing her eyes, Hermione thought of some bookshelves, containing Muggle and Wizarding literature about parenting and other topics they needed. She thought of extending the window sill so that the two of them will fit somehow. By the grunt she heard, she considered it as an approval. And finally, Hermione thought of a huge piano to fill up the vast space. It was a random thought, but somehow she felt it right to be there. "Winky," Hermione called as she opened her eyes.

A pop echoed through the room and the used-to-be drunk elf appeared in front of her. "Miss, what can Winky does Miss?" The house-elf squeaked, her voice a mix of fright and grief that it made Hermione's heart broke into small pieces.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Winky, but are you the elf Professor Merrywood asisgned to guard us?" Hermione asked in a soft soothing voice as she kneeled in front of the elf. Winky almost scurried if not for the fact that she'd seen the woman before. "Yes, Miss." The little creature retorted, almost shy.

"Alright, can I ask you to bring up some food? We've missed breakfast and we can't leave to get some, can you do that?" She asked, although it pained her a bit to do it. She still hated asking house-elves for something she knew she could do. However, the brief brightening of Winky's demeanor quickly relieved Hermione's hesitation.

"Yes, Miss. Winky is gets the food quickly, Miss." The elf squeaked brightily and popped before Hermione could complete her mouthing of gratitude. Another minute passed and a floating tray appeared, complete with various fruit slices, bread loaves, a pitcher of pumpkin juice and two glasses. Hermione caught it with her hands as she walked over to Draco who was seated on the window sill. Unbeknownst to her, he watched the whole interaction between Hermione and Winky and simply admired her manners, even if he couldn't discern why she was too kind to the elf.

"Best we eat," Hermione said with a shrug as she put the tray on the place between them and sat on the sill herself., leaning on the wall opposite Draco. She was glad she wore trousers today. It was weekend after all. Hermione took a bread loaf and buttered it with a knife before leaning back to the wall. Her eyes went to the view before them and she sighed as she spotted the blond head of her daughter with the black hair of Harry's son. Their smiles reached their ears as they play chase under the watchful eyes of the Potters- might as well call them that.

"She perfect isn't she?" Hermione said, risking a glance to Draco. Draco nodded as he took a loaf himself and poured juice on the glasses. He lightly nudged the other glass to Hermione's direction and took his. "Thank you," she said.

Draco shrugged and watched the scene before them. Why on Earth did her daughter became best friends with a Potter was beyond him. Although, being Granger was her mother, it was bound to happen. He just didn't thought it'll be possible, even if Cassie was his pretend daughter. He didn't actually thought he could be in a more tolerant environment with Potter and the She-Weasley, but it happened. It was the Weasel though that he couldn't tolerate when he opened his yap. He was actually glad the git's son wasn't that close to his daughter.

"What happened to the old Draco Malfoy?" Draco heard Hermione's voice and pulled himself from his reverie. He contemplated in silence while glancing at her every few moments then back to the scene on the Hogwarts' lake. He heard Hermione sigh and poured another glass of pumpkin juice on her own.

Hermione groaned in her head, mentally slapping herself for asking that question. They were friends, barely, before the incident on Cassie's birthday happened. But she never did think of asking him what happened to the intolerant bully, Draco Malfoy. She knew that he liked Quidditch, that he was good in Potions because his mother was and she was friend with Snape before, that he still has his inheritance although Malfoy Manor was currently under the Ministry until he graduated. She knew trivial things about him, but she didn't know Draco Malfoy. And Merrywood was right, if they wanted this partnership to work, they needed to knwo each other.

The witch mimicked Draco's action and simply watched the scene. The kids were in the shallow water of the lake, near the shore with Harry and Ginny on their side as they enjoyed the last bits of fall. Soon, the lake would be frozen, and it wouldn't be fun to be at the lake anymore. She heard him sigh then poured some more juice into his glass.

"I needed to change." He said, making Hermione's gaze lift from the scene to him with a look of surprise. Draco, however, looked away from her and watched the scene. He loved how happy his daughter was. He didn't realize his happiness would depend on other people, much more he would love other people.

"The war, it changed me. It made me see what I, my whole family, had turned blind eye on. I, I couldn't live like that anymore. I have to change, or else I'll go insane." Draco said, struggling slightly with his words. He had barely said those things to Blaise, his best friend, but here he was, talking to Granger whose life he'd made hell when they were younger.

"I, I understand," Hermione replied when the initial surprise wore off. They would actually talk now. They watched as Cassie splashed some water on James who ran faster before Harry could catch him. That made Cass follow the father-son tandem and soon, Ginny too. The four of them played chase and their merry laughter filled the air. Even if she was feet above them, Hermione could still hear them in her head.

"You would think that the Slytherins would have learned their lessons from the war, wouldn't you?" Draco said interrupting her thoughts.

"I don't know. I hoped so. Though the looks I, we've been receiving since the beginning of the year is far from tolerant."

"That's right. Only a few of us really saw the war, Granger. Only few had been forced to grow up quicker than them. Only I, Blaise, Greg, Theo. Not even Pansy or Daphne did." Draco said grabbing an apple and tossed it on his other hand.

"Their families did their best to hide them from the Dark Lord. Mothers had flown to other countries to hide their kids, but not us, never us. We've been born, taught, and trained to be a Death Eater. We couldn't defy it. But not everyone know that. Not everyone knew of what we've been through." He said flatly although Hermione could sense a bit of bitterness in his words. "The world is not black and white." He added then stood up from his seat and walked to the bookshelves.

Hermione remained silent as she listened to him speak. She dared not lift her eyes to look at him, afraid that she'll see what she'd been afraid of. The pain, the fright, the rage, every emotion of his was what Hermione had been afraid of. She half expected him to explode, but in the new Draco Malfoy way, he maintained his composure despite the harshness in his voice.

She understood what she was saying. She wanted to forget, she simply wanted to move on. She'd been forced to grow up quicker like him, she'd seen much more than she thought she would have seen had she been a simple teenage muggle. She'd seen how Muggleborns were turned into statues to carry the bigger statue of witch and wizard in the Ministry. She'd seen how people cower in fright. She obliviated her parents memories just to keep them alive. She'd seen the fall of people from both sides in the final battle, some were mere children like her. She'd seen them all. She'd seen the grey areas Draco had been talking about. She understood him.

Standing up from her seat, Hermione walked on the grand piano, lifted the cover of the keys and positioned her fingers above it. Her mother insisted on her learning of the piano despite her being part of the Wizarding world. Dr. Jean Granger thought Hermione could be the best of both worlds. Hermione's mind began recalling her favorite piano piece, _Beethoven's Fur Elise._ Her fingers glided on the balck and white keys of the piano, softly filling the air with harmonious music. She tried to pour her soul to the music, and she'd been successful.

Whatever words that hadn't been said between them was communicated through her music. Hermione opened her eyes to look at Draco's, which was not a hard task as he was looking at her directly despite the open book in his hands. As the music played on, their eyes talked. She told him that she understood, and through an almost imperceptible nod, Hermione knew that Draco knew why she understood. Both of them had changed, this time for the better.

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><p><em><strong>I know I'm a bit behind with this update, and with MTMTE, but I didn't realize that this conversation was going to be heavy. Though, I feel like it's that important. Don't worry, we'll get on some light stuff next. I'm afraid More than Meets the Eye would get update later this week, but surely it'll be before Easter... I hope you like it. I'll be more than grateful if you leave some review. 3<strong>_

_**-ladyelainemalfoy-**_


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